In the book “Last child in the woods”, Richard Louv argues the importance of natural setting’s and natural play in the lives of people and especially children. He argues the point that mental and physical development is being hindered due to the lack of nature experience among the newest generations in America, through a number of studies and reviews of personal experience.
Through research that included studying adults and children Louv came up with the interesting theory that a lack of interaction with nature may be the cause for many mental “disorders” including A.D.H.D. and A.D.D. Two very commonly diagnosed “disorders” in the American society. How this lack of nature creates such symptoms is an unclean theory due to the mystery of the human mind in relation to thought and memory. It is understood that in some form the present of nature and the outdoors in an individuals life is calming and reviving. Through interviews and experiments with many people Louv found often that people where more able to focus and live happily with more nature in their lives than those who experienced less. In turn those who experienced less nature and more indoor activities such as TV have in theory a higher chance at getting such disorders as A.D.H.D. and A.D.D.
While I can agree that nature has a positive influence on the mental and physical, my personal experience cannot so well relate to this theory. My childhood was filled with time in the woods, games in the outdoors and parents that disapproved of television and other indoor distractions, yet that didn’t stop many of my fellow playmates as well as myself from showing signs of and getting diagnosed with A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. Though nature deficit maybe the cause for some mental health issues, there may be other factors including diet and other basic health issues.