The Public Health Benefits of Trees pt. 1

Little girl standing behind a purple umbrellaTypically, people tend to favor neighborhoods with more trees in them. However, this is more than just an aesthetic reason for this. Studies conducted across the country have shown that there are immense psychological benefits that trees can have on an entire neighborhood. Here’s a few reasons why trees create a more stable, inviting, and happy community…

Fights AD/HD symptoms

A recent study by the University of Illinois has shown that children who are diagnosed with AD/HD show signs of increased focus in the event that their living environment contains an abundance of trees in the vicinity. Those same children also demonstrated an increase in self-discipline and reduced impulsive behavior, as opposed to those whose living environment was devoid of trees. This same study showed that having trees in a living or learning environment can increase the learning potential of children. Interestingly, this correlation was shown to be much stronger for girls than for boys.

Impact moods

Over the years, trees have been shown to make people considerably happier. There is a consistent correlation between increased signs of depression amongst a population and a lack of vegetation and trees in a neighborhood. There are several reasons that are hypothesized as to why this could be. One is that people generally spend more time outside in areas with trees. Increased exposure to the outdoors can heighten people’s moods and increase their daily exercise, which creates pleasure-inducing endorphins in the brain.

Reduce air pollution

One of the primary biological functions of trees’ relationship with mankind is that they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to create oxygen. This creates healthier air for everyone to breathe, which leads to a healthier population. Trees can also filter aberrations out of the air, such as dust, pollen, smoke, and even ash. Simply having an acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people every single day. Without trees, CO2 buildup would be out of control. Trees take in carbon dioxide and store it in their trunks, giving any excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere a runoff, rather than an incubation period.

Conserve water

There are many things in the ground which could easily cause water pollution. However, tree roots have an amazing ability to pull pollutants from the ground by absorbing runoff water that may attract dangerous substances. This essentially cleans the ground water in an area, and protects any nearby water sources from contamination. Without tree roots, many contaminants would leak into various community waterways.

This article will continue in part 2.

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