Nature Deficient Disorder-WR 327

TO: Kayl Severson

FROM: Tiffany Belvoir

DATE: February 9, 2016

SUBJECT: Writing 327 Final Report

Dear Karyl:

Attached is the report studying the intellectual, emotional, and physical wellbeing of Generation Z, a generation that has been more isolated from nature during fundamental years as a child than any other generation.

I chose this topic because I am concerned for the health and wellbeing of Generation Z, a generation that I myself am a part of, as well as the generations that are yet to come into this technology driven world of ours. I believe that any human would benefit from learning the importance of nature on the mind, body, and soul. With that said only people who wish to change the way we are corrupting our youth will find my paper useful. I would go as far to say that the topic at hand is vital for humanities existence.

The decision making part of the audience would be anyone interested in learning how spending time in nature would benefit them and anyone willing to open there eyes to the growing problem of under appreciation of nature. The technical part of the audience will be able to read a clarified description of the impact of nature on human development and will be able to skim through the visuals rather then read the text for understanding of statistics. The “layperson” of the audience will be able to understand this technical description because I will be careful to explain even the most basic details pertaining to the topic.

The scope of my technical research paper will incorporate nature’s impact on intellectual, emotional, and physical wellbeing of humans and in particular of Generation Z.

I would like to thank you for taking your time to read this research paper. If you would like any more information pertaining to the topic, please let me know.

Best wishes, Tiffany BelvoirExploratory StudiesOregon State University Honors CollegeCentral Oregon Community College(541) [email protected]

Cascades Oregon State University

Nature Deficient Disorder:The Impact on Generation Z

By: Tiffany Belvoir

Technical Writing-327Karyl Severson16 March 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2EXAMINATION: OF WHY GENERATION Z IS NATURE DEFICIENT………………………………………………………… 2

Overuse and Over-Reliance of Technology…………………………………………………………………………. 4

Overprotective Parenting Styles…………………………………………………………………………………………. 5

Lack of Nature Based Communities……………………………………………………………………………………. 5

What’s next?............................................................................................ 6COMMUNICATION: OF NATURE DEFIECIENT DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS………………………………………………. 6

Physical Wellbeing……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

Understand Natures Benefits…………………………………………………………………………………. 7

Childhood Obesity………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Vitamin D Deficiency……………………………………………………………………………………………… 8Mental

Wellbeing……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8

Academic Areas………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

Life-Long Learning…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

Emotional Wellbeing………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11

Nature Benefits Everyone……………………………………………………………………………………… 11

Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder………………………………………………………….. 12Generational

Differences………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13INTEGRATION: OF NATURES ROLE BACK INTO CHILDRENS LIVES…………………………………………………… 15

Take Initiative……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 17WORKS CITED…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 18

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report examines the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of

Generation Z. Generation Z consists of the children born from around 1994 to 2016.

The key principle addressed in the report is the affect that nature deficient disorder has

had on the children of this generation. Nature deficient disorder is a term used to

describe the detrimental effects that a lack of connection with nature brings to an

individual.

Humans have known of the benefits from nature since the beginning of our

existence; however, it is argued that the true importance of nature and how nature

impacts our physical, mental, and emotional well-being were not known until society

deprived nearly a whole generation, Generation Z, from nature in a way that had not

been done before by humans.

Three key areas in Generation Z’s upbringing are discussed in this report. They

are the areas of the children’s lives that many scholars believe have led to such a

dramatic increase in nature deficient disorder in such a short period of time. Those

areas include:

Overuse and Over-Reliance of Technology

Overprotective Parenting Styles

Lack of Nature Based Communities

If society is to decrease the amount of children in the next generation who will

suffer from nature deficient disorder these areas need to be addressed and solutions

need to be provided in order to deal with these issues as soon as possible.

INTRODUCTIONThis report examines how nature has played a key role in humanities evolutionary

process since the beginning of our existence. The 21st century is shunning that vital

connection that has gotten humans to where we are thus far. Humans have only

recently, within the last few generations, lived in an urban world, opposed to that of a

natural environment. 90% of humanities existence on this earth has had the experience

of connecting with nature on a spiritual and intellectual level. The people who made up

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the 90% had fewer distractions and had a keen desire to learn the land that was

allowing them to live their lives. Today’s last few generations make up the 10%,

specifically Generation Z. The issue society is noticing with Generation Z is that our

world grew substantially within a short period of time. While the children of the 21st

century, known as Generation Z, live in a time of extraordinary technological innovations

and powerful advancements they also must face the growing gap between humans and

nature; humanity has the obligation to examine, communicate and integrate the

evidence that a connection with nature is vital to physical, mental, and emotional well-

being.

EXAMINATION:OF WHY GENERATION Z IS NATURE DEFICIENTFirst we must examine why there is a growing gap between humans and nature. To do

this Generation Z has been compared to the previous four generations in various fields.

Evidence shows that the individuals who make up Generation Z have been more

isolated from nature during fundamental years of development than any other

generation. We are able to infer this information by comparing the average amount of

time each generation spent on the internet during their childhood (see Fig. 1).

Fig.1. Five generations’ internet use by percentage of generation compared on timeline. Statistics provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Graphic made by Tiffany Belvoir.

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Ailments are arising in our youth that can be linked to “nature-deficient disorder”, a term

formulated by the renowned nature connection expert Richard Louv.

This disconnection from nature is the result of many factors in this contemporary era.

The author Gouri Rao Passi of “NATURE DEFICIT DISORDER.“ is a pediatrics

consultant at Choithram Hospital and Research Center, he describes reasons why

children are increasingly disconnected from nature, “Issues of safety, both working

parents, lack of parks and natural surroundings in our bleak urban landscape and the

lure of the TV and computer are important reasons why children are spending more

time indoors.” (821). These are all concerns that are easily changeable with time,

patience, and persistence.

Issues that we can strive to change before tainting the next generation, include:


Overprotective Parenting Styles

Lack of Nature Based Communities


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The children of Generation Z were the first to be born into a technologically advanced

society that allowed them to grow up through digital screens while ignoring the real life

experiences happening all around them. The way that experiences between the

generations differ is examined in the article, “Do Our Kids Have Nature-Deficit

Disorder?” written by the author of eight books, that helped launch an international

movement to connect children to nature, Richard Louv, comments that, “For this new

generation of children, direct experiences with nature—whether in the backyard, in a

neighborhood field or woods, or along a beach, stream, or lake—are slowly being

replaced by indirect experience through electronic media and machinery”.(24) The

children of Generation Z are tied down with an electronic umbilical cord that replaces

real life with that of screens and artificial experiences (see Fig. 2.).

Fig.2. The average day of an individual from Generation Z divided by four main categories. Statistics provided by Learning Works For Kids. Graphic made by Tiffany Belvoir.

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Overprotective Parenting StylesThe next area that needs attention is the parenting style that was/ is used with

Generation Z, which has been skewed by exaggerated media and paranoia from the

parents. In Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods” he supports the fact that parenting

style has an impact on nature-deficient disorder by arguing that parents have “scared

children straight out of the woods and fields, while promoting a litigious culture of fear

that favors “safe” regimented sports over imaginative play.”(16) We are able to see that

parents are continuously removing their children from the outside when in reality they

need to embrace nature with their children. This would be easier for parents to

accomplish with the support of nature based communities in common place.

Lack of Nature Based CommunitiesNature based communities are communities that take time to plan nature outings as

well as incorporate nature into school, work, and play settings. Unfortunately these

communities are rare and special in today’s society. The transition to less natural

communities began in the 1970’s with the reconstruction of several schools. Louv

elaborates on this fact by stating, “In the 1970s, the physical and academic designs of

too many school districts turned inward, resulting in the building of windowless schools,

the banishment of animals from classrooms, and even the elimination of recess and

field trips.”(16). Somehow along the way we have allowed the education of children to

become less than natural by defying human desires.

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What Is Next?Technology, paranoid parenting and a lack of nature based communities have been

examined and leading experts in this field agree that they all influence a disconnection

to nature. (24) For society to truly understand the importance of this topic the evidence

that detrimental effects occur when a disconnection with nature is present must be

communicated.

COMMUNICATION:OF NATURE DEFIECIENT DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS

Physical WellbeingNature is an important aspect in humans’ everyday physical lives. A disconnection from

nature, as seen with Generation Z, results in negative effects to an individual’s physical

well-being. To understand what ill effects a disconnection with nature has on physical

wellbeing we should first examine the positive effects that a connection with nature has.

Understand Natures Benefits Research has been conducted that suggests that nature offers healing properties in

hospital settings. In 1984 Dr.Ulrich, a Professor of Architecture at the Center for Health

Building Research at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, declared his

findings from an early study in his article, “View through a window may influence

recovery from surgery.”. The study showed that patients who were given a room with a

view of trees and/or flowers had a faster recovery time and less desire for pain

medications than patients with brick views. (420) This study shows that even a small

amount of exposure to nature has benefits on physical wellbeing, with that said it is

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understandable that a lack of exposure to nature has harmful effects on physical

wellbeing.

Childhood ObesityOne of the biggest epidemics to physical wellbeing, in America, is childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity in the population has more than doubled in percentage from the

previous generation (see Fig.3.). Louv claims that there is an association between the

amount of greenness in a community and children’s body mass. His research shows

that after a two year period the higher the amount of nature in an area the slower

children body mass increases. (24) Based on this research the fact that nature is able to

help prevent and reverse obesity is incredible considering that there are many health

problems associated with obesity, as stated by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention) obesity can lead to type two diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure,

heart disease and various forms of cancer.

Fig.3. Five generations’ obesity by percentage of generation compared on timeline. Statistics provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Graphic made by Tiffany Belvoir.

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Vitamin D DeficiencyThe division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the Boston Children’s Hospital is ran

by Huh and Gordon who assert that their studies indicate an increase in vitamin D

deficiency throughout the generations. (4) Generations are becoming increasingly

deficient in vitamin D and Generation Z is at an all-time high of 75% of their generation

being deficient in vitamin D. This deficiency can lead to several chronic diseases

including rickets, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cancer. Nature

plays a vital role in physical well-being, one that is hard to explain but easy to see (see

Fig.4.)

A reconnection with nature is essential for the individuals in Generation Z who suffer

physically from a disconnection from nature.

Mental WellbeingGeneration Z will one day need to realize their full potential, work productively, cope

with stressors in life, and make meaningful contributions to their family, friends,

community and nation. In order for this generation to accomplish these things they will

need to have positive mental wellbeing. Unfortunately for Generation Z their lack of

Fig.4. Five generations’ obesity by percentage of generation compared on timeline. Statistics provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Graphic made by Tiffany Belvoir.

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contact with nature at a young age hinders their abilities in mental health. Thankfully

even the slightest exposure after years of isolation from a true connection with nature

still has positive effects on mental wellbeing.

Academic AreasGreat examples of nature’s effects on mental wellbeing can be obtained from dedicated

“natural teachers” who have noticed more and more kids suffering from nature deficient

disorder and did what they could for these students in need. These “natural teachers”

would take their students outside to nature,”— a place to find wholeness and health,”

observes Louv,” They tell stories, about the 10-year-old classroom troublemaker who

becomes a leader outdoors, whose demeanor changes almost magically from agitated

and disruptive to focused and respectful; about a budding writer who blooms; or about

the young scientist who discovers in a field what was hidden in a textbook.”.(24) These

accounts from various teachers allow an insight into the mental blockage that is

released when exposed to nature. When these statements from the teachers were

voiced, research began to develop on the topic. Louv declares that studies conducted

across the United States showed that when classrooms are in natural settings the

students improve in areas such as social studies, science, language arts, and math.

(24) Contact with nature not only improves the academic arears of mental wellbeing but

also is necessary to build life-long learning skills.

Life-Long LearningThe authors of the article “Resurrecting Free Play in Young Children.” includes Burdette

Whitaker, Hilary L., and Robert C. who make up the division of Gastroenterology and

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Nutrition at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. They are individuals who came

together and collaborated in order to better the lives of future generations. Being in the

field that they are they expose themselves to cases of children with ailments and

symptoms that they, as health care professionals, are not able to solve by themselves.

Instead a more holistic and naturalistic approach must be taken to help kids who are

suffering from the lack of play in nature. They emphasize that play, particularly active,

unstructured, outdoor play in a natural setting needs to be reincorporated into all

children’s lives. (46) These health care professionals assert, “While playing outdoors a

child is likely to encounter opportunities for decision making that stimulate problem

solving and creative thinking because outdoor spaces are often more varied and less

structured than indoor spaces. In addition, there are usually fewer constraints outdoors

on children’s gross motor movement and less restriction on their range of visual and

gross motor exploration. Together these factors that do not prescribe or limit activity

induce curiosity and the use of imagination.”(46) In nature a child becomes mentally

strong, they learn their fears and how to face them, their strengths are discovered and

the cognitive building blocks that are necessary to sustain intellectual development and

overall wellbeing are laid down to make a strong foundation for life. Nature is a primal

aspect in human’s mental wellbeing. When there is a disconnection from nature there is

a disconnection of cognitive abilities and executive function. Martha Driessnack a nurse

practitioner based out of Portland, Oregon, with a medical specialization in pediatrics,

chimes in on the topic at hand. After learning about nature deficit disorder she made it

her responsibility to write a journal for other nurse practitioners to bring awareness to

this important topic. She explains how public health experts have typically defined

environmental health as the absence of toxins and pollutions while neglecting to

consider how the environment can improve human physical, mental, and emotional

well-being. (5) In her journal, “Children and Nature-Deficit Disorder” she brings into

discussion several important aspects. Martha expresses how if children have contact

with nature they will learn to deal with fear while building and exploring their own

strengths and weaknesses.(5) Nature is vital to overall mental health. During

development, contact with nature is essential; however, for many, including those in

Generation Z, that contact did not occur. This means that actions to rehabilitate that

essential connection should take place for mental as well as overall health and

wellbeing.

Emotional WellbeingThe emotional wellbeing of humans can be thoroughly developed through the use of our

natural surroundings. Early childhood experiences have lasting, measurable

consequences later in life; therefore, fostering emotional well-being in a natural setting

from the earliest stages of life helps build a foundation for overall wellbeing.

Nature Benefits EveryoneLouv reasons that connecting children to nature has the potential to send calmer, more

curious, well balanced individuals into the world.(24) The article “The Importance of Play

in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds”,

written by Kenneth R. Ginsburg examines how children are in some ways on house

arrest or rather are tied down by their technological umbilical cord. Kenneth R. notes

that these changes in learning are potential sources of stress and anxiety and may even

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contribute to increasing incidence of depression. (12) An important aspect to grasp is

that children are losing their ability to experience the world directly due to a lack of

connection with nature, this lead to the inability of Generation Z to relate to others’ life

experiences.

Attention Deficient Hyperactivity DisorderA connection with nature seems to benefit

the general public in various ways but the life

altering results that children with ADHD

(Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder)

experience is outstanding. Louv claims,

“Some of the most intriguing studies are

being conducted by the Human- Environment

Research Laboratory at the University of

Illinois, where researchers have discovered

that children as young as 5 showed a

significant reduction in the symptoms of

attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder when

they engaged with nature.” Further studies

have been conducted on ADHD and nature

which have been recorded in the journal

“Children and Nature 2008. A report on the

movement to reconnect children to the

natural world.” Written by scholars Cherly

A child who suffers from ADHD was given a second chance through the powerful healing aspects that come from a connection with nature.

“this child had a problem — he was hyperactive and could not pay attention. Because he disrupted the other students, he had been expelled from school. At first, his parents did not know what to do. But they were observant. They had already seen how nature calmed their son and helped him focus. Over the next decade, they seized every opportunity to introduce him to the natural world — to beaches, forests, and dunes as well as to the rivers and mountains of the American West. The little boy turned out fine. “

–Richard Louv

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–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv



–Richard Louv

Charles, Richard Louv, Lee Bodner, and Bill Guns express that “Children with attention-

deficit disorder are described by their parents as showing fewer ADD symptoms and

being better able to focus immediately following outdoor activities such as camping and

fishing, compared to indoor activities such as doing homework and playing video

games.”. (68) The more natural the everyday environment is the more manageable

ADHD symptoms are. Nature has proven to be of beneficial use to human beings on

various interconnected emotional levels. This issue is important to address as a society

as soon as possible seeing as ADHD continues to rise every generation (see Fig.5.).

Generational Differences As discussed we have seen that the various issues in mental, emotional, and physical

well-being have all gradually become worse as the generations advanced in this

growing technological urban society. By viewing the increase in internet use of each

generation we also view the decrease in time spent in nature by these individuals. With

that decrease in time spent in nature we see a rise in childhood obesity, vitamin D

deficiency and ADHD among the younger generations (see. Fig.6.).

Fig.5. Five generations’ ADHD in individuals by percentage of generation compared on timeline. Statistics provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Graphic made by Tiffany Belvoir.

Fig.6. Is a combination of the Internet Use, Obesity, Vitamin-D Deficiency, and ADHD graphics in order to show the increase between the generations and the various fields. Statistics provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Graphic made by Tiffany Belvoir.

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INTEGRATION:OF NATURES ROLE BACK INTO CHILDRENS LIVES

In order for the three main issues discussed in this paper to be resolved all must take

initiative.

1. Overuse and Over-Reliance of Technology: Moderation is key to balance in everyday

life, this includes usage of electronic devices. Electronic devices have to be looked at as

an addiction; other addictions have warnings about the usage of the harmful products

and I believe the effects of electronic devices on a person’s lifestyle rather good or bad

should be known. Set a time limit for usage of technology, during a reasonable time, not

when operating a vehicle or supposed to be learning/teaching. If work involves

technology make sure to count that time into your time limit. A well rounded life style is

essential for using the electronics as tools instead of allowing them to control lives.

While electronics can be very beneficial to an advancing society, they also pose great

risk to society due to health, safety and social development. If used properly and in

moderation, society can continue to benefit from electronics without the risk of abuse or

addiction.

2. Overprotective Parenting Styles: Parents and other caregivers are essential to the

children’s executive function development. The term executive function is usually used

to define the set of mental processes that allow for the retention and involvement of

information, focus attention, filter out distractions, problem solve, and shift mental gears.

The authors of "THRIVING THROUGH NATURE: Fostering Children’s Executive

Function Skills.” made their toolkit report in order to show that executive function skills

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are vital to a happy and successful life. They explain how when secure attachment and

executive function skills are developed they can be enhanced by nature based play for

children.(6) They explain how executive function skills provide a foundation for life long

success and well-being such as being able to navigate efficiently with family, in school,

and in work settings.(6) The three primary arears of executive function, located in the

prefrontal cortex, include self-control, mental flexibility, and working memory.(7) The fact

that poor executive function skills are associated with mental and social health problems

and the knowledge that nature based activities have been seen to aid the development

of executive function skills shows the public that being connected with nature based

activities is an important part in mental and social health problems. They also mention

things to keep in mind while making the shift to be more environmentally aware and

nature bound with child upbringing.(7) Such as the fact that the years from zero to five

are critical to the foundation, secure attachment is fundamental in building healthy

brains, and that executive function skills mature at different stages.(7) In order for the

next generations to become less nature deficient we need to instill into the parents the

importance of nature in their children’s lives.

3. Lack of Nature Based Communities: In order for society to appreciate and respect

nature as humans once did we must incorporate nature based communities back into

the system. Communities need to take time to plan nature outings as well as

incorporate nature into school, work, and play settings. Access to natural environments

to encourage unstructured play and discovery, of oneself as well as the world, need to

be available to all children in order to truly defeat nature deficient disorder.

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Take InitiativeFor those who want to invest more time in exploring the health benefits of nature and

why the incorporation of nature back into children’s lives is important there is vast

knowledge on this subjects online. Louv gives resources for teachers who wish to

explore outdoor classrooms and learning there is The Children & Nature Network that

invited all educators to join the Natural Teachers Network at their website

www.childrenandnature.org.(19) Other great sources to gain more information from

include the Evergreen program in Canada which can be found at www.evergreen.ca/en,

Eco Schools in Europe at www.eco-schools.org, and the Natural Learning Initiative in

the United States which is accessed at the following, www.naturalearning.org.(19)

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http://www.naturalearning.org/

http://www.eco-schools.org/

http://www.evergreen.ca/en

http://www.childrenandnature.org/

WORKS CITEDBurdette, Hillary L., and Robert C. Whitaker. "Resurrecting Free Play in Young Children."

Medical Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 159.1 (2005): 45-46. Web. 17 Feb.

2016.

Charles, Cheryl, Richard Louv, Lee Bodner, and Bill Guns. "Children and Nature 2008.A report on

the movement to reconnect children to the natural world.” Corpslakes (2008): 157-71.

Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/datastatistics/. Web. 11

March. 2016.

D’Amore, Chiara, Cheryl Charles, and Richard Louv. "THRIVING THROUGH NATURE Fostering

Children’s Executive Function Skills." Children & Nature Network (2015) 1-7Web. 24 Feb.

2016.

Driessnack, Martha. "Children and Nature-Deficit Disorder." Journal for Specialists in Pediatric

Nursing (2009): 1-5 Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

Ginsburg, Kenneth R. “The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and

Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds” Pediatrics 119 (2007): 1-12. Web. 25 Feb.

Huh SY1, Gordon CM. “Vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents: epidemiology, impact

and treatment.” Rev Endocr Metab Disord.(2008): 1-5. Web. 8 March. 2016.

Learning Works For Kids. http://learningworksforkids.com/ . Web. 11 March. 2016.

Louv, Richard. “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.”

Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006: 16-30. Print.

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http://learningworksforkids.com/

http://www.cdc.gov/datastatistics/

Louv, Richard. "Do Our Kids Have Nature-Deficit Disorder?" Educational Leadership 67.4 (2009):

24-30. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.

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