If you're worried about how your teenager is doing, you are not alone. A recent study by the Child Mind Institute found that almost 25% of parents are concerned about a child's mental health. The stress and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, global warming, wars and domestic conflicts all weigh on them -- in addition to the normal pressures and stresses of the teen years. One study found that more than 40% of students said they felt "persistently hopeless," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Well, new research reveals a cost-free remedy that can improve teens' mood -- forest bathing. What that means, say the researchers from Canada's University of Waterloo, is that helping kids spend time in green spaces measurably improves their mental health. In a first-ever study, they quantified the benefit for anxious or unhappy teens of being calm and quiet while surrounded by trees, observing nature and breathing deeply: After two or three minutes of having teens stand and look at an urban lake, the kids' anxiousness scores fell 9% (standing on a busy downtown corner for two minutes raised their anxiousness score 13%).
Other smart ways to help teens' mental health include participating in school activities with your teen; encouraging family sit-down-and-talk mealtimes; and spending time doing family activities out in nature. Upgrading family nutrition and encouraging physical activity is also essential. Your bonus: You'll manage your own stress better and have an improved outlook on life. For even more ways to increase your quality of life, sign up for the free weekly newsletter at LongevvityPlaybook.com.
Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).
(c)2024 Michael Roizen, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.