Going to national parks, such as Luneta, La Mesa Dam, Quezon City Memorial Circle, Pinoy Aquino wildlife, may actually be very good to one’s mental health, a study by one of Australia’s top universities reveal.

Research made by a team from the Griffith University shows that visits to national parks makes people improve their sleep, feel more healthier due to reduced stress levels and experience enhanced cognition.

This three-part study, partly financed by Parks Victoria, a government agency, involved over 20,000 people who visited Lamington and Springbrook national parks. A team from Griffith University and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service collated and analyzed the data.

By encouraging people to visit parks, costs to mental-health related problems such as absenteeism, poor productivity and antisocial behavior such as vandalism and domestic abuse become stable and at manage-able levels.

In Australia, government spends US$ 145 billion per year to treat people with poor mental health. Urging governments to spend more for development of parks means more savings in mental health expenses.