People and planet: How human and planetary health are deeply connected
The health of people and the planet are inextricably intertwined, with time spent in nature positively improving our lives and inspiring us to help keep Earth healthy.
Whether standing on a windswept hilltop, a sandy beach or in the dappled sunlight of a forest glade, being in nature can bring a tremendous sense of well-being. Connecting with the natural world is not only known to help restore and sustain our physical and mental health, but also connects us to the need to restore and sustain the health of our planet—a fundamental that underpins all life on Earth.
Instinctively, we work hardest to protect what we understand: Storytelling about the importance of nature to human health can inspire people to help preserve the planet. To support this, Bupa has joined forces with Earthrise Studio to tell the story of planet and human health through the experiences of filmmakers from across the world—each touched by the power of nature in their own distinct way.
Forced into stillness by a spinal paralysis, Alice found herself tuning in to the slower pace of nature.
The more I tuned into that rhythm, the more hollow our culture of speed and endless consumption began to feel.
Inspired by this realization, Alice set herself a goal—to walk again, immersed in nature. In 2021 she hiked the 125 miles of the spectacular Cornish Celtic Way. “I let my senses lead,” she reflects. “In communication with the land.”
“What is the cost of living in a world that is always on?” asks Sydney. For her, the cost of modern existence is relentless migraines. But she also sees nature paying a price: The fireflies she chased as a child are disappearing through light pollution. For Sydney, the answer lies in restoring dark. “The environment resets and recycles,” she muses.
The song of dawn emerges each morning. It brings me back to my body, to my health.
More than half the global population lives in cities, contributing to the disconnect between people and nature. “We rely on nature to thrive,” says Ava, part of a city-based trail running community that seeks to get runners back into the countryside.
The woods and nature with the smells and the sights is such a relaxing state for the brain and body. Even just the stuff I'm thinking about feels more positive when I'm running on the trail.
Through making my own compost, I feel I've seen the perfect cycle of life, and I think that cycle is kind of beautiful.
Since taking up gardening, Gaz has connected with the soil and reevaluated what he eats and uses in everyday life. Gardening has brought more immediate benefits, too. “There's actually a bacteria found within healthy soil that can boost your mood and relieve stress,” he explains. “My mental health has improved so much.”
As a teenager in East London, surrounded by violence, Nadeem felt he had to be “cold, hard, tough, like the city itself.” One day, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Nadeem sought quiet in the green space of a city graveyard.
Two meters away from me lands this green woodpecker, and I've never seen anything so beautiful in all my life.
This connection with nature steadied Nadeem and is guiding him on a happier path through city life, bringing people together in a community of urban bird watchers.
“Most days my mind moves faster than my body,” considers Musti. “Everything demanding attention.” But going out into nature and photographing what he sees, helps to slow everything down.
Each photo is like a small pause. A moment of connection between what I see and how I feel.
For Musti, fresh air, sunshine, and quiet bring a balance that fuels his creativity. “The sound of wind; the texture of light. It reminds me that inspiration doesn't live in noise, it shows up in silence.”
Multiple sclerosis shapes how Aliza moves through the world. As a landscape architect, she studies the ways the Earth rises, rests, and renews, and she noticed a familiar rhythm in herself. “The same current that runs through the universe runs through me,” she affirms. “The needs of the planet mirror my own.” This realization helps Aliza move with more awareness.
Because when you understand the cycles that sustain the planet’s health, you begin to recognize the cycles that sustain your own health.
Living with a chronic illness, Michaela felt disconnected from her body until she discovered the comfort of water. “At first it was an escape from gravity, from strain,” she explains. “But over time, water became a place to slow down, to listen, to feel.” The water reconnected Michaela with her body and its rhythms—her pulse, heart, and the stillness between breaths. Here, she found that happiness and pain can co-exist.
In the ebb and flow of loss and renewal, life keeps finding a way.
For Aditi, connecting with her Punjabi roots has brought a renewed sense of stewardship. “Every landscape has its own rhythm, the native plants that evolved with it, the original language of the land,” she explains. Tending to these plants connects Aditi to the soil, flavors, and stories of her homeland with a powerful realization.
The health of our bodies and the health of our planet are inseparable threads of the same tapestry.
She muses, “This is the power of nature: Restoration doesn’t happen apart from the Earth, but through our return to it.”
Bupa looks after the health of more than 60 million people worldwide. But you can’t have healthy people without a healthy planet. Often what undermines our health, an over reliance on urbanization and technology, is what disconnects us from nature and contributes to climate change. “We rely on nature to thrive,” says Ava in “Breathe Her In”. “It's so important that in those urban spaces we give people the access to be able to see it, to value it, and enjoy it, so that we really understand the need to protect it.” Because the story of our planet’s health is perhaps the ultimate health story.
Learn how sharing your health story is as simple as talking here.
Find out how managing your health concerns is made easier by talking here.
