“Good Nature” by Kathy Willis is a scientific exploration of the health benefits of connecting with nature. The book delves into recent research that demonstrates how interacting with the natural world can have remarkable effects on our bodies and minds. Willis, a biodiversity professor at Oxford, presents compelling evidence for the positive impact of nature on human health. For example, she cites a study showing that office workers with a vase of pink roses on their desks experienced physiological relaxation within just four minutes. The book covers various aspects of nature’s influence, including:
- Visual effects: Patients recovering from surgery heal faster when they can see trees from their hospital windows.
- Olfactory benefits: The scent of roses can improve driving performance, making people calmer and less prone to accidents.
- Auditory impacts: Though not explicitly mentioned in the review, the book likely covers how natural sounds affect well-being.
- Tactile experiences: Touching organic soil has significant effects on the health of our microbiome.
Willis argues that even small increases in our exposure to nature can lead to meaningful improvements in health. She provides actionable advice for incorporating more nature into daily life, such as keeping plants in offices and homes. While the reviewer praises Willis for uncovering a fascinating and important topic, they note that the book could benefit from more engaging storytelling techniques. The review suggests that including interviews with researchers or exploring innovative urban rewilding projects could have made the content more compelling.
In her exploration of the health benefits of natural landscapes, Kathy Willis delves into why certain environments are inherently more beneficial to our well-being than others. The insights presented in her book “Good Nature,” as reviewed here, offer profound connections to the principles of feng shui, particularly in how the natural world influences our mental and physical health.
