Natural Wellbeing
By Will Kessler
As the pandemic continues to affect our lives, upending how we work and play, it is important to find ways to recharge and destress. It can sometimes be hard to relax at home. I often find myself being tempted to work on a project or multitask while I’m supposed to be relaxing. In the beginning, not getting outside as much didn’t seem like such a big deal, but as the weeks became months, I realized how much I had taken nature for granted. Some days I just wanted to go outside and hear, see, and smell nature.
I ended up on going on walks, after which I always felt a little bit better. I started to wonder if there was something to nature that makes people feel good. Turns out, there is! Time in nature is associated with high wellbeing and self-reported good health. Sometimes being in nature helps us get away from rumination. Sitting inside on the computer and other electronics all day, it can be easy to get caught up in the here and now. You can easily become stressed about projects due, deadlines to meet, and plans to follow through on. All those sources of stress can feel like “death by a thousand papercuts,” especially when we sit there thinking about them all day. However, taking some time in nature helps our minds let go of those stressors and giving your brain some downtime is something could that helps us all.
Life can be very busy though, and it can be hard to find time to get out and spend time in nature. Luckily for us though, only 120 minutes (or two hours) a week is enough to make a difference. Additionally, it doesn’t matter how long each session of outdoor relaxing is. Whether you take a few short walks in the park each week or one long hike, the outcome is the same. This means that there may be many opportunities already in our lives to find time to get outside and clear our minds. For example, over the summer I would eat lunch outside.
You may be thinking to yourself “how am I supposed to get out in nature? There are no big forest or mountain trails near me.” This is where it gets good: you don’t even need a big natural landscape with miles of rolling hills or thick wooded forests to get the benefit from being outdoors. Even town parks or community gardens can be beneficial. Just because you can still see evidence of other humans, it doesn’t mean the nature that is there isn’t work the effort.
Getting outside may sounds like a good idea, but I understand it can be intimidating and even at times discouraging to simply be told to go outside yet have no direction on what to do once you’re out there. So here are some things you can do outside.
Take a walk (feel free to take pictures)
Read a book outside (I did this, and it became one of my favorite activities)
Eat a meal outside (lunch time)
Find somewhere to sit and watch the sun rise or set
Getting outside and out of the house, away from all the temptations to “just finish up that one thing” can be helpful, I know it has been for me. It doesn’t have to be a big commitment; you could take a ten-minute break on your porch to eat lunch and another ten for a quick walk with the dog. Just doing something outdoors can help you get away from all the stresses of day to day living and improve your life.
References
Denworth, Lydia. ( 2019, Jun 13). How Much Time in Nature Is Needed to See Benefits? Brain Waves. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-waves/201906/how-much-time-in-nature-is-needed-see-benefits
Kane, Suzanne. (2018, Jul 8). 10 Ways Nature Helps Your Well-Being. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/blog/10-ways-nature-helps-your-well-being/
Perper, Rochelle. (2016, Apr 1). The Psychological Benefits of Spending Time in Nature. Therapy Changes. https://therapychanges.com/blog/2016/04/psychological-benefits-spending-time-nature/
White, M. P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B. W., Hartig, T., Warber, S. L., . . . Fleming, L. E. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports, 9(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3