Improving Mental Health With Kindness

Have you ever wondered what you can do to instantly lift your mood?

A simple act of kindness can do just that.

There are many ways of improving mental health with kindness. Two of the most relatable are when you act as a known “giver,” such as helping an elderly person across a dangerous intersection, and the second way is to be the unknown “giver”—this one works as a pay-it-forward act of kindness. It includes things like paying for a stranger’s meal or coffee order without contact with the person you are helping. 

Regardless of which act you choose; it lifts the spirit. As humans, many of us are taught from childhood to be kind, polite, and helpful. After the act is done, there is praise from the authority figure who is teaching the mind of the young.  Smiling, clapping, or giving positive reinforcement, feeds the child’s soul and raises him or her to associate with kindness.

This is no different as an adult. We need to give kindness because kindness is a quality that is essential for mental health.

How does Kindness Improve Mental Health?

According to Professor Shahram Heshmat, when people are kind, it gives them a “helper’s high” which lowers stress hormones like cortisol. This allows the fight-or-flight response to calm down.

We live in a highly volatile world, especially these last several years.  People are rife with angst, frustration, and a “me first” attitude. If you are feeling any of these, it is important to feel like you are part of a world where others sometimes feel the same way. Kindness helps us relate to others. By performing a simple act of kindness, you bring yourself back to a state of calmness, and even joy.

A simple, genuine smile at someone can go a long way for your mental health. Doing kind things will improve your social connection with others, which in turn will make you feel better about yourself. Little by little, mental health can greatly improve.

Improving your mental health with kindness is a cycle. Not a vicious one, but one that is upbeat and inspirational.

Kindness Also Means Accepting Kindness from Others

Sometimes, it could seem that kindness does not come easily to some people, but kindness is a quality, and there are two simple ways to improve mental health with kindness:

• Perform acts of kindness
• Accept acts of kindness from others

For instance, let’s say that you are at a grocery store.  You just finished paying for your goods and go to grab your bag; it splits, and all the contents in that bag fall to the floor. 

As you scramble to rebag the contents, a stranger helps you by grabbing another bag and holding it out for you to fill it up. 

What do you do?

If you decide to smile and tell them thank you, it boosts your positive hormone, oxytocin.  You just took the first step to improve your mental health without realizing it. A genuine “thank you” can be very powerful.

“Your presence is an opportunity for others to do good things. This makes you a very important figure in people’s lives.”

– Inspiring click: 15 small things that make you happy in big ways

Forest Schools

Nature creates a sense of awe and curiosity for kids that no other environment can rival. That’s why forest schools are educational marvels that come with some amazing benefits for children.

Forest schools—or “skogsmulle,” as it is known in Swedish pedagogy—provide a transformative way to educate kids. These schools aim to encourage learning and independence by nurturing play, exploration, and supported risk-taking in an outdoor environment. 

These schools can help address the addictive screen-scrolling that many children have with their phones and tablets. By fostering a balance between time spent outdoors and using technology, children can have productive experiences that benefit them greatly as they grow.

What are Forest Schools?

Forest schools are an experiential approach to education that allows children access to outdoor environments with the intention of provoking curiosity, action, and creativity. They typically run full-year, and the outdoor education inherent in forest schools creates an environment that gives children the opportunities to explore, absorb, and have fun as they interact with nature.

Children interact with grass, leaves, frogs, insects, rain, sunshine, and seashells, and we can’t forget the good old pinecones. The environment spikes the children’s curiosity, allowing them to ask questions, and the learning process continues.

Where did Forest Schools Originate From?

Forest schools come from Swedish pedagogy. Skogsmulle or Mulle is a Swedish fictional forest creature that introduces kids to nature. He’s the central figure in the concept of forest schools, depicted as a happy-go-lucky forest gnome that accompanies kids in the woods, singing with them and telling them stories about the forests. 

Gösta Frohm, developed the concept of forest schools in the late 1950s while he was working with Sweden’s Association for Promotion of Outdoor Life. Frohm molded the educational concept around Skogsmulle, making it synonymous with forest schools.

Seven decades later, forest schools have been developed and improved by early education stakeholders in Sweden and beyond. Today, we have forest schools in the UK, Finland, Norway, Latvia, Russia, Japan, and the US. Some have “imported” the concept of Mulle, while others like Japan and Latvia have incorporated their own culture and system into forest schools.

Why are Forest Schools Important?

Forest schools act as a buffer from the endless scrolling done on tablets and phones. Kids can spend the entire day scrolling through their tablets, and we have yet to fully understand how this affects them. Children have an exorbitant amount of energy, and it used to be that they would spend all of that energy outdoors. However, with the advent of technology, incentives must now be created for them. Since children have to be educated, forest schools make it so that those incentives are inherently part of the educational process.

Supported Approach to Risk

Forest schools provide learners with an environment that constantly expands children’s ability to solve real-world problems, building confidence and self-esteem. One of the main philosophies of Skogsmulle is that children should be risk-aware, not risk-averse.

If you would like to know how much of a risk taker you are, then read our article, Taking Risks: Why It’s Hard to Take Risks But Why You Should.

The educational nature of forest schools goes beyond learning the risk of physical harm. Besides knowing the potential dangers of sharp tools or campfires, learners take emotional and social risks. They are encouraged to try something new, ask questions, and apply leadership skills.

For instance, Terra Moyo International School in Nairobi focuses on fostering children’s life skills by helping children learn by taking action and “reflecting on the experience.”

These unstructured but carefully watched environments introduce kids to the benefits of taking risks, trying new things out, and developing decision-making skills while interacting with other children and receiving lessons from teachers.  

Holistic Development

Outdoor learning is not just about imparting knowledge. Forest schools prioritize holistic, well-rounded learning by addressing physical, emotional, and social aspects involved while being out in nature. Children can take centerstage since these programs place emphasis on their interests and talents.

Guiding kids while they drive their own learning process can have a more profound effect on their academics, health, and overall well-being.

This is a different approach than traditional classroom environments where a set curriculum is followed, and where tablets, phones, and computers are an integral part of the education process.

Learning that is Limitless

Close your eyes and visualize any natural setting for a second. If a child visited your mind’s nature vista, how many questions would they ask? How much would they learn?

As you can see the possibilities are endless. In nature, kids can learn about colors, numbers, animals, plants, geographical features, seasons, and more. 

Spending time outdoors provides a more imaginative and active experience than passive screen time. 

Connection with Nature

Research shows that early experiences associated with nature foster a lifelong connection with it. According to the studies, adults who had positive experiences with nature are more likely to take care of nature as adults. With the overwhelming presence of plastic pollution, the drive for a healthier environment is more important now than ever before.

Melati Wijsen started a movement that banned the use of plastic bags in the entire province of Bali when she was just a teenager; ridding beaches and shores of plastic that had once covered entire areas.

Health and Well-Being

Spending time in nature may improve children’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being. The benefits of forest schools may be difficult to measure scientifically, but most parents and educators know that children would spend their entire day outdoors given the chance.

Since nature schools allow children to be active, they can improve their stamina, balance, physical fitness, and gross motor skills. Skogsmulle practitioners have also reported that children have reduced stress levels, improved sleeping patterns, and better concentration.

There is Nothing Like the Outdoors

The concept of forest schools is relatively new, and some people may still view it as an “exotic” thing. For years, claims supporting the benefits of nature schools were mostly anecdotal, but recent studies support holistic learning and outdoor exploration for young minds.

There are still some challenges faced by forest schools. In some urban areas, for instance, forest schools may not be accessible to every child, especially those coming from low-income families. They may lack the funds for transport, food, high-quality outdoor kit, or exposure to outdoor knowledge. 

However, forest schools can nurture meaningful experiences that can have a lifelong positive impact on a child’s social, mental, and physical development.

Two recent studies in the field of environmental science have shown that the practice of earthing, or grounding therapy, can help us recover from injuries by significantly reducing inflammation, and can greatly increase the quality of sleep we get at night.

The practice itself is easy to learn. All that’s needed is your feet, some soil, and a little time.

What is Earthing or Grounding?

Earthing, sometimes referred to as “grounding,” is the practice of allowing our bodies to make direct contact with the earth—think of walking barefoot on grass or sand, or immersing your feet in soil. Some in snowy regions have even invested in equipment like an earth mat, an innovation that takes grounding indoors.

What was once thought to be a quaint form of folk medicine is turning out to have real scientific precedence. The practice of grounding is quickly becoming a legitimate form of science that explores the physiological and psychological benefits of connecting with the enormous amount of electrons coursing through the earth’s surface.

How Does Earthing Work?

Most of the earth’s surface is naturally conductive. This means that Earth has electrons that are constantly being replenished. Studies suggest that our Earth’s electrons are virtually limitless sources of healing for the body.  

Our brain sends signals to every system of the body using electricity, and we are just beginning to understand the role Earth’s electrons play in regulating these systems.

Since most of our time is spent indoors, we are most likely missing out on the benefits of connecting with the earth, and dedicating time to doing so can be greatly beneficial.

Why is Grounding Important?

Many of the more pervasive problems in our society such as stress, acute pain, and restlessness can be at least partially caused by a lack of connection with the earth’s electrical field. Grounding therapy or earthing can reduce stress and pain, and promote the rest needed for optimal health.

Earthing Benefits 1: Reduces Painful Inflammation

Replenishment of the earth’s electrons can help regulate the biological functions of the body responsible for the inflammation that occurs after an injury. Patients recovering from injuries recover much faster while practising grounding, and the practice can even prevent inflammation from happening altogether following an injury. Photographs from case studies show that the inflammation around the injured area of subjects is noticeably less or absent altogether.

Study Source: National Library of Medicine

The inflammation seen around a wound can be thought of as “collateral damage” to healthy cells caused by the cells repairing the damaged part of the body. The presence of electrons in the body after grounding neutralizes many of the excess cells produced to respond to an injury, thereby eliminating much of the painful inflammation.

Earthing benefits 2: Boosts Quality of Sleep

Sleep is profoundly important to both our physical and psychological well-being, and REM sleep in particular has been shown to be important for mental health. To test the effects of grounding, participants in one study slept with a cotton sheet woven with conductive threads. These threads were attached to a wire running out of the room and into a metal pole placed in the ground.

8 weeks of observation led to a noticeable stabilization of the participant’s circadian cortisol secretion – the biological process that determines when we become alert and when we feel tired. Many of the participants claimed that their sleep improved after the study and that they felt less stress overall.  

Bringing the body into harmony with the earth’s electrons can stabilize the electrical systems governing our organs, tissues, and cells. A more stable bioelectrical system leads to a greater sense of well-being and increased quality of life.

How To Practice Earthing

If you’re wondering how to ground yourself, then just take off your shoes and step onto the earth with your bare feet. It’s really that easy. You may be surprised to find how quickly you begin to benefit from it. If you feel some inflammation, then like the participants in the studies, it may only take 30 minutes for the inflation to greatly subside.

You can practice earthing techniques stationary or in motion. Walking barefoot can be enjoyable provided you have a safe area to do it. Otherwise, you can stand or sit on a patch of grass or soil. 

If the thought of standing in one place for a long time is not something you find particularly likable, you can use your time standing or sitting on the earth to practice the art of mindfulness. If you have trouble quieting your mind, then the practice of earthing can be a perfect opportunity to try.

Whichever method you use, you can be happy knowing that your body is being rejuvenated by the power of the earth itself.