The phrase forest bathing (or spending time in nature) can provide an important boost
to your mind and body. Go to a nature preserve, and leave your cell phone
locked in your car. Let go of the thoughts in your head and focus on the
present of the way the tree bark feels, the way the dirt smells, the sounds of
birds singing and wind blowing leaves. Take a relaxed, winding walk that gives
you time to breathe and break from the pace of everyday life.
It turns out a nature
walk can actually improve your
physical health, besides giving you a mental rest. The idea that
spending time in nature can make you feel better is instinctive. We all feel
this to be true, and many of us have stories of our own or from friends or
family that support that idea. People who have been suffering from stress,
sickness, or a trauma can spend quiet contemplative time in gardens or taken to
the mountains or woods to heal. Researchers are gathering evidence to prove
what everyone knows to be true. Nature is good for you.
It has both long and
short term mental and physical health benefits. You
get used to our routine surroundings (the office, our cars, our homes).
Deliberately leaving those spaces and moving to natural surroundings for a
while unplugged will improve your health. Make an appointment with nature by
taking a leisurely walk. Spend time on yourself. The benefits of nature can also be found in
our communities’ parks and green spaces. Here are reasons why you need to make
space and time for nature in our lives:
Aids in Healing and Keeping Away Disease -It’s no surprise that
less stressed, more positively energized individuals would be healthier. But
hard evidence is beginning to add greater credence to the role nature plays in
staying physically well. In 2009, Dutch researchers found that people living within a half mile
of green space had fewer incidences of 15 diseases – including anxiety, heart
disease and depression – when compared with those who had less immediate access
to nature.
Other studies have shown the benefits of even
a window view of the outdoors, including patients recovering faster in
hospitals. A
study conducted by Japanese researchers found that a 15-minute walk in nature could
make a notable difference in physiology including a drop in blood pressure,
heart rate, and the stress hormone cortisol. Spending just ten minutes in a
natural environment is enough to lower your blood pressure. Generally speaking, your stress levels and
mental fatigue drop when you visit green spaces, and they also provide a great
place for exercise.
These effects can have an impressive and
lasting impact on your physical health. For example, hospital patients who have a view of nature from their window
have been found to heal faster and are discharged earlier than those with a
view of a wall. People who live in greener environments tend die less often
from circulatory disease. There other benefits from spending time in
nature. For example, children who are exposed to the more diverse bacterial
life in the soils around well-vegetated areas can build a more robust immune
system, and tend to suffer less from allergies. The physical benefits
you get from nature reduce the cost of public health.
Energizes the Body-Being outdoors often naturally prompts us to take action
to combat mental and emotional strain and its effects. Walking, jogging or
bicycling doesn’t only keep us physically fit, but exercise in general can
boost your energy levels. Nature provides a natural mood boost. Taking in some
vitamin D from the sun is good for energy levels not to mention the immune
system and a whole host of other important physical functions.
Exercising outdoors may make workouts easier.
There are positive effects of the color green on exercising. Exercising in
natural environments can lead to greater feelings of revitalization compared to
exercising indoors. The relief from stress and mental fatigue that you gain
when you spend time in nature not only impacts our physical health, but can
also enhance your mental well-being.
Exercising in a natural
environment can boost your mood and self-esteem, and can also reduce the
symptoms of depression much more so than exercising indoors. You can also get
some of these benefits just by looking at a view of nature out the window.
Workers with a view of trees tend to have greater job satisfaction, as well as
lower stress levels, than people with no view of trees. Nature can also make your
living environment much healthier. Trees and shrubs filter the pollutants out
of the air you breathe. Vegetation also absorbs and reflects heat, providing an
inexpensive way to regulate the temperature and prevent heat-related illnesses
or deaths in hot-climate cities.
Relieves Stress-Nature has a calming reaction. The stress reducing
effects of the outdoors can be seen in studies of those living closer to green
space. City dwellers living near natural areas reported less mental distress
than those who did not. These results were true for income, education and
employment – factors which are also linked to a sense of well-being.
Living closer to green space has also been
correlated with fewer stress hormones circulating in the bloodstream. Nature
allows your body to focus on improving its systems. Many plants release
immunity-boosting organic compounds into the air. Forests provide shade, help
filter the air, and can reduce levels of stress hormones in your body.
Resets the Mind-Nature not only can do wonders for your sense of
well-being, but for your mind as well. Research seems to suggest that being outdoors in a favorable
setting can switch your thoughts over to focus on less demanding stimuli. This allows
your brains to take a break and to recover from the nervous irritation of
overscheduled lives. Korean
scientists
studying brain activity in people viewing different images found that when
subjects looked at scenes of nature, blood flow increased to the areas of the
brain connected to emotion formation and processing, learning, and memory.
Maybe that’s why there’s evidence that
children who spend time in the outdoors or even have a view of nature from
their classrooms seem to perform better in school than those who don’t. Improve your memory. One study found a
nature walk improved short-term memory by 20 percent. Reduce feelings of depression or anxiety. A long walk through a
natural environment does wonders for the thoughts spinning through your brain.
A 2015
study
found a 90-minute nature walk slowed participants’ rumination (repetitive
thought focused on negative aspects of the self).
“Those
who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will
endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the
repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and
spring after winter.” (Rachel Carson)[i]
[i] Sources used:
“Health Benefits of Nature” by American Society of
Landscape Architects
“5 ways nature can improve your
health” by Amish Doshi
“5 Ways Nature Can
Keep You Healthy” BY LAURA KIRAN
“Five ways nature can improve our health” By Danielle Shanahan
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