Deck 28: Ecotherapy: the Healing Power of Nature

Question 1

How do disruptions of circadian rhythms affect health and stress levels?

Answer 1

Circadian rhythms
Circadian rhythms refer to the 24 hours cycle of a human body and other living organisms including fungus and bacteria. For example, the temperature of a human body will keep on changing day by day. In the early morning, the body temperature will be low and during afternoon it will be high. It creates the internal clock within the body, also termed as "chronobiology."
Chronobiology can be affected through the level of stress and it causes an interruption that will be highly stressful to the body.
The following is the way by which the disturbance of "circadian rhythms" affects stress levels and health:
Circadian rhythms affect "physiological and psychological" aspect of human body. It includes the various metabolic process and sleep patterns.
In the present world, Circadian rhythms are always disturbed because of the individuals' dependence on the human created radio waves such as mobile, television, and computer screen lights and the exposure of frequencies for various purposes such as mobile towers, wire free data transfer, radio frequencies. This will affect the health and increase the stress level of human body.

Question 2

Explain how ecotherapy affects both mind and body.

Answer 2

Ecotherapy:
Ecotherapy is a treatment for mental and physical wellbeing through the exposure to the natural world. This therapy has many health benefits to the individuals on connecting with nature. In the present scenario, people are addicted towards the usage of modern technology and as a result, it can cause nature deficit disorder due to lack of exposure to nature.
The following are the ways by which ecotherapy affects body and mind:
Continues engagement in the ecotherapy will result in the positive changes in the body as well as mind. This therapy or exposure towards nature can reduce stress as it has a calming effect on the mind and human spirit. The nature has certain level of pressure of force (healing power) to resolve problems in the human body. For example, the sun light has some energy and vitamins, which will cure some health problems of the human beings. Ecotherapy is also termed as green therapy.

Question 3

Describe how solitude can be therapeutic.

Answer 3

Solitude:
An individual's purposeful act of being alone for some time in a silent place, away from the work, friends, family, and other daily distractions is known as solitude. This is done to gain inner peace.
Solitude can be therapeutic by the following ways:
People of all age groups require respite for their mind for various reasons that may be internal or external. Quintessential respite technique is used to calm an individual's mind from sensory overload or nature deficit disorder.
Solitude helps a person to be cured from the mental and physical damages. Inner peace helps to reduce the stress and increase concentration. Hence, solitude can be therapeutic through the ecotherapy.

Question 4

Give three examples of how you earn nature points in your present weekly routine. Then describe changes to your routine that would allow you to score more points in future.

Question 5

What is ecotherapy?

Question 6

What is nature deficit disorder?

Question 7

What is biophilia?

Question 8

List three effects of nature on human physiology.

Question 9

How does the concept of entrainment correspond to ecotherapy?