This time of year, the sounds of returning chirping fill the air, bright new leaves rise from bare branches, early color appears in our gardens, and the days last a little longer into the evenings. The freshness of spring reminds us of the cyclic nature of nature. It is not surprising that April is often called the month of the Earth. This season of renewal can help us restore our kinship with the human world.
There is strong evidence that connecting with nature is good for our physical and mental health. Studies show that the connection with nature decreases stresslowers our blood pressure, reduces ruminations related to depressionand reduces worrywhen it heightens our sense happinessbring up creativityand affect pro-environmental behavior. Research has shown that time spent interacting with nature also stimulates areas of the brain associated with empathy—the ability to understand and experience another person’s feelings and perspectives firsthand.
But thanks to our urban, industrialized, technological culture, we are more removed from nature than at any time in the history of our species.
A decrease in our exposure to nature
According to estimates, by 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in urban centers. The average adult now spends more than 93 percent of their time at home (Bratman et al., 2015), often in front of a screen. According to a 2019 Nielsen report, adults spend an average of 11.5 hours per day on media. Half of 18- to 29-year-olds surveyed by the Pew Research Center that year said they were online almost constantly. Research by the Kaiser Foundation shows that in 2010, children ages 8-18 spent an average of 7.5 hours per day engaged in some form of screen time for entertainment and only 4-7 minutes per day in outdoor play (Rideout et al., 2010). A follow-up study found that screen time increased to 9.9 hours in 2016, and that doesn’t include computer time spent at school or doing homework. We can assume that since the pandemic screen time the clock ticked again.
With competition for our time and attentionless exposure to nature can undermine our connection to and appreciation of the natural world. For example, in a study of 16,000 people in England, they reported that they did not visit nature regularly, with 22% saying they were “not interested”, that time in nature was “not for people like them”, or that they had no “specific reasons” for not going to nature (Boyd et al., 2018).
As we widen our lens to include our patients’ ecological systems, ecotherapists may ask: What would happen if one ceased to have direct experience of the natural environment? How does the loss of experience affect a person? How does the decline in experience of nature affect conservation efforts and recognition of the connection between human health and planetary health (Hasbach, 2025)? How does the lack of connection with nature affect society?
Ecotherapists and “Nature’s Prescription”
According to a recent article by the president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, neuroscientists link too much digital exposure to thinning of the cerebral cortex. memory and decision making. It also desensitizes our emotions dopamine reward system reflecting the influence of addiction. Time spent on the Internet is literally rewiring our brains. Neuroimaging also shows that time in nature stimulates the regions of the brain involved in empathy feeling it can help heal our polarized nation (O’Mara, 2026).
As ecotherapists, this may be a good time to remind our patients of the benefits of connecting with nature. We might consider writing a nature recipe that encourages them to get outside and engage with the nature around them or to venture into wild places. We can brainstorm with them how they can integrate their digital technology with their experience of nature. For example, we can ask them to photograph a meaningful place or example endurance in nature, or what they are attracted to. Alternatively, we can ask them to take an afternoon of technical fasting while taking a walk in the local park or walking along the beach.
These acts of intentional connection with nature can provide balance in our technology-rich society. Spring can give us a chance to slow down, notice what we see, and open our senses to the real world around us. These experiences can help us become kinder, safer, and more just sympathetic the world
This post contains excerpts from my book, Prescribing Nature: A Clinician’s Guide to Ecotherapy.
Visit to find a therapist Directory of psychology therapy today.
