Older People Who Have Access to Natural Surroundings Attain Better Sleep

The researchers from the University of Illinois College of Agricultural consumer and environmental sciences found that closer the older people will be to nature, better will be their sleep. The study found that men and people at the age of 65 and older who have access to natural surroundings, whether it is the green space of a nearby park or a sandy beach and an ocean view, report sleeping better.

Diana Grigsby Toussaint, a University of Illinois professor of kinesiology and community health and a faculty member in the University of Illinois's Division of Nutritional Sciences, said that it was hard to overestimate the importance of high-quality sleep and added that the inadequate sleep was associated with decline in mental and physical health which reduced cognitive function, and increased obesity.

The researchers have found that the most common answer was that respondents had slept poorly for less than one week. She noted that living near green landscapes is associated with higher levels of physical activity and that exercise in turn predicts beneficial sleep patterns. Grigsby Toussaint added the study points to the importance of conserving nature in general.

The study is published in the journal Preventive Medicine.

Source-ANI