We have our son visiting from the frigid North and he is currently thawing out.

Dr. Harriet Phelps

He loves Arizona, mostly for soaking up sunshine and warmer temperatures before returning home to snow.

Since we live out in the country, he has commented on how calm and serene it is sitting outside. His dad tests him with, “Do you hear that?” Silence. Occasionally, a dove is cooing from the electric wire above.

We also have a view of the lower valley, 450 feet lower. Daytime is awesome but nighttime is incredible. There is no light pollution unless we turn on a light. We see South Mountain’s red lighted towers, planes lined up to land at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and, best of all, the Milky Way and constellations in the night sky.

South Mountain is 50 miles away, as is Sky Harbor. The Milky Way? Well, you know the estimate.

Why is this significant? For us, it brings joy. Research shows nature benefits your mental health.

Housing developments have used this to their benefit. Note green spaces with trees, other greenery and playgrounds for their residents. We are happier in nature. Requirements by HOAs for trees and plants maintain the overall pleasurable consistency of nature’s aesthetics.

We are nurtured by nature.

As a child, I did not have to be told twice to go play with the neighbor kids. Everyone looked out for the kids. There is something beyond measure in the activity of play, fresh air and expending energy to sleep well at night. As a young family, our vacation time was spent camping. We would take our sons camping for our week off. After the fresh air, activities and nature had reduced the negative energy of work, school and everyday stress, then returning to those activities was easier to accept.

Gardening has the same effect. Digging in the dirt is wonderful relaxation and has a bounty of rewards.

Recent Japanese studies support the practice of Shinrin-Yoku, or forest bathing. The art of bath is ritualistic in Japan. It is not just a practice of cleanliness but of release and wellness. Forest bathing engages all five senses: We listen to the sounds of nature, we breathe in clean air, we smell the clean fragrance of the forest or other environment, we see the sights and we can touch the texture and shapes of nature. We almost taste the environment around us.

All of this is a state of mind in sensory experience. These practices reduce chronic stress, which contributes to anxiety, depression, insomnia and mood. The physiological problems of high blood pressure, muscle tension and lowered immune response are also improved.

Recognizing the negative effects stress can have on mental health, we must also understand we need to take a break in nature because the high demand for real estate has taken its toll on cities, with poor green space and fewer trees and parks.

My fondest memory at age 6 was lying on a blanket at a picnic and having my grandmother show me how the clouds were moving across the sky.

I was in awe! Nature is awe-inspiring.

Harriet Phelps is a retired psychologist and a volunteer at Be Awesome Youth Coalition and Maricopa Senior Center.