"It's in the Dirt! Bacteria in soil can make us happier, smarter" - more good evidence for the children and nature movement

[Naomi Sachs, ASLA]

Today's Therapeutic Landscapes Network Blog post is about a bacterium in regular-ole soil/dirt that has been found to reduce stress and improve mood and cognitive function by stimulating the release of seratonin. Articles have been written about this before but none that I have come across so far discuss all  three related studies and their implications. All of them point to good news for connecting children with nature!

 

http://www.healinglandscapes.org/blog/2011/01/its-in-the-dirt-bacte....

 

 

[Suz Lipman]

Hi Naomi. It's great to see you.

I love this story (and the picture on your blog that accompanies it!) It is definitely welcome news for those of us who live in cultures in which health-related worries about dirt may be one more thing that keeps parents from letting their kids play outdoors.

We also covered this good news on the C&NN web site -- wonderfully, from different researchers who arrived at the same conclusion. (http://www.childrenandnature.org/news/detail/can_playing_in_the_dir...)

Thanks again for your great post and for sharing it.

[Naomi Sachs, ASLA]

Thanks! I enjoyed writing it. Though it's been written about before, I couldn't find any other articles that talked about all three pieces of research in the same story (and yeah, I love the pictures, too!).

Suz Lipman said:

Hi Naomi. It's great to see you.

I love this story (and the picture on your blog that accompanies it!) It is definitely welcome news for those of us who live in cultures in which health-related worries about dirt may be one more thing that keeps parents from letting their kids play outdoors.

We also covered this good news on the C&NN web site -- wonderfully, from different researchers who arrived at the same conclusion. (http://www.childrenandnature.org/news/detail/can_playing_in_the_dir...)

Thanks again for your great post and for sharing it.

[Suz Lipman]

I agree -- Good to have all the bolstering research in one place. Thanks again for writing and sharing.

[Randy Eady]

Great and helpful way to understand a natural biological and ecological encounter (and counter a prevailing notion: dirt = infection).

Here's another way to understand the eco-biological interplay of getting down and dirty. . .

For instance, skin in our feet works best to protect our bodies and absorb information and nutrient from the soil when the foot is bare (as much as possible).

A fear often cultivated from childhood by doctors, parents, teachers and counselors is the notion of getting infections by going barefoot.  It helps to consider that the reverse situation is the case:  lack of proper ventilation in closed shoes keeps the skin moist and makes it prone to invasion by microbes and infection while simultaneously weakening skin tissue.  Shoes actually thin plantar skin, making you more vulnerable to infection.

Frequent barefoot adventures toughens/thickens the skin, and keeps it naturally healthy and well-ventilated.  (See this entry for more details:  http://childrenandnature.ning.com/profiles/blogs/wildplay-report-on...)

This last point is important as our feet, our hands (and head) have the greatest number of sweat glands on our body.  Sweat glands that produce micro-droplets of moisture that quickly evaporate and remove heat from the body.  

Though this "breathing" interaction of the pores also affords of us a vital exchange with our environment.  With our hands and feet in natural soil, we invite our body to achieve another level of homeostasis and balance.  Conversely, with hands always in gardening gloves and feet ensconced in both shoes and socks -- sweat and heat create a dark, moist, warm breeding ground for less than humanly healthy bacteria and fungi.

[Naomi Sachs, ASLA]

Dirt may still = infection. There are other bacteria in there in addition to M. vaccae! So the research still needs to be done about benefits vs. risks. I would urge people to have their tetanus shots up to date in case of cuts, especially with urban soils where pieces of glass, rusty nails, etc. tend to lurk. And for immunocompromised people, I really don't know - that will be up to biologists or some other expert to decide. But it's exciting to have a compelling argument for NOT sterilizing soil, and for really getting in contact with it, instead of just the same-old argument for sterilization.

Randy Eady said:

Great and helpful way to understand a natural biological and ecological encounter (and counter a prevailing notion: dirt = infection).

Here's another way to understand the eco-biological interplay of getting down and dirty. . .

For instance, skin in our feet works best to protect our bodies and absorb information and nutrient from the soil when the foot is bare (as much as possible).

A fear often cultivated from childhood by doctors, parents, teachers and counselors is the notion of getting infections by going barefoot.  It helps to consider that the reverse situation is the case:  lack of proper ventilation in closed shoes keeps the skin moist and makes it prone to invasion by microbes and infection while simultaneously weakening skin tissue.  Shoes actually thin plantar skin, making you more vulnerable to infection.

Frequent barefoot adventures toughens/thickens the skin, and keeps it naturally healthy and well-ventilated.  (See this entry for more details:  http://childrenandnature.ning.com/profiles/blogs/wildplay-report-on...)

This last point is important as our feet, our hands (and head) have the greatest number of sweat glands on our body.  Sweat glands that produce micro-droplets of moisture that quickly evaporate and remove heat from the body.  

Though this "breathing" interaction of the pores also affords of us a vital exchange with our environment.  With our hands and feet in natural soil, we invite our body to achieve another level of homeostasis and balance.  Conversely, with hands always in gardening gloves and feet ensconced in both shoes and socks -- sweat and heat create a dark, moist, warm breeding ground for less than humanly healthy bacteria and fungi.