Mental health and nature deficit disorder are related?

I read "Can playing in the dirt make you smarter?" and was even more convinced that a daily dose of nature is important in our mental and physical well-being. It is even more important in Singapore as we live in high-rise apartments and do not come into contact with soil and gardening is not in our list of things to do everyday or even on weekends.

Linda Buzzell, a psychotherapist, wrote about this in http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-buzzell/garden-guide-can-playing_b_591254.html

"The science supporting the mental health benefits of gardening and outdoor activities in general just gets stronger with each new study. We need to help our kids -- and ourselves -- recover from what author Richard Louv (Last Child in the Woods) calls "nature deficit disorder."

These studies encourage all of us to support our local communities by building a school garden at every educational institution in our area, increasing the availability of community gardens for everyone who wants a plot of soil to dig their fingers into and -- perhaps most important -- shrinking our lawns and growing some of our own food."

The original article is found at www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100524143416.htm

I also wrote about this in this blog earlier, in May. It is found at http://asal-sakti.blogspot.com/2010/05/fun-filled-carefree-and-myopia-free.html

Cheers