Research reveals the connection between green lifestyle and personal well-being
Research shows that there is a positive relationship between environmentally friendly lifestyle and personal well-being. This may be due to the fact that environmental activities satisfy our basic psychological needs, such as feeling that we are making the world a better place and acting according to our own values and interests.
Surprisingly, it can also have the opposite impact. Usually, people with a positive attitude are more likely to pay attention to the environment and act empathetically, to make the others benefit from certain actions.
One study aimed to check whether this relationship between ecological lifestyle and personal well-being exists in both rich and poor countries. The study was based on the data from a survey of nearly 7,000 people in countries such as Brazil, China, the Netherlands, India, Poland, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
The researchers found that no matter which country people live in, their commitment to environmentally friendly activities has increased (e.g. minimising wasting food, buying greener products, donating money to green campaigns, or doing work that helps protect the environment), so did their personal well-being.
However, the researchers also found that the relationship between green behaviour and well-being varies across cultures. In places typically considered to have a more collectivistic social organisation and way of seeing the world (e.g. Brazil and China), it has been found that environmentally beneficial actions involving more people at once, such as planting trees together, have a particularly profound impact on human well-being. Surprisingly, this effect was not observed in the more individualistic societies studied (UK and Denmark).
It’s possible that greater comfort leads to environmental care and vice versa. In any case, research shows that people who act environmentally friendly also tend to be happier. Activists as well as politicians may benefit from those findings.
Rather than assuming that doing the right thing for the environment is a burden, people should look for ways to highlight the positives of such lifestyle. Campaigns promoting environmentally friendly lifestyle would certainly highlight these benefits well.
And what can you do to protect the environment and make your day better?
- give away old clothes,
- bring your own cup for a coffee to go,
- bring your own shopping bag for groceries,
- avoid single-use products made of plastic,
- take showers instead of baths,
- support local producers.
Those are just a few ideas. Keep in mind that you can do something good every single day. Stay with us a bit longer and check our articles on the eco-lifestyle category.