May 9, 2016.
â € ‹A study reveals that the presence of trees in a city contributes significantly to managing stress.
Trees in the city reduce stress
It was researchers from the University of Illinois (United States) who had the idea to find out whether the presence of trees in a city had an impact on the well-being of residents. A very important question in terms of urban planning, when we know that many new towns, or suburbs, have almost completely ignored greenery, in all its forms, because it is binding! It takes up space, requires maintenance, it is necessary to prune the trees and collect the leaves … However, the presence of trees in the city is a benefit, it is now proven.
It doesn’t matter which trees are in town
The reactions of 160 people, divided into several groups, were closely analyzed. All subjected to standardized sources of stress, according to research protocols established so that these stresses are comparable between individuals, they were then able to see three-dimensional images of cities, with more or less trees. The density of trees on these images ranged from 2%, that is to say almost non-existent, to 62%, And surprise! The more trees were present in the projected images, the faster the participants recovered from their stress, according to the vital signals measured and analyzed by the researchers. The guinea pigs in this experiment, when asked about the images they had just seen, confirmed what the physiological data revealed.
Note that the experiment presented the participants with trees of different types. All had the same effect on the participants. So it doesn’t matter whether there are oaks, plane trees or fir trees in your city, the important thing is that they are there!
In France, the city with the highest concentration of trees per inhabitant is Versailles, thanks to the park of the castle, which is also the largest green space in Europe located in the heart of a city.
Read also: The neighborhood where we live would have an influence on our mental health
