Embrace nature, improve wellness
What do the earth and nature have to do with your wellness? A lot actually.
How does nature impact your wellness and why is it important to pay attention to it in your own life? What does a day in our modern society look like? I know that if I’m lucky, I go for a walk around the neighborhood, which isn’t exactly the wilderness. Is that good enough, or is it better to really get into the wild? How can a lack of nature be impacting our health and wellness and what can we do to incorporate more into our lives? We are all busy, so hopefully we can find practical ways to make time for this in our life.
How and why nature is important to your wellness
There is a lot of research that shows the impact of nature on our well-being. One study analyzed evidence from a variety of sources and found associations between exposure to nature and improved cognitive function, brain activity, blood pressure, mental health, physical activity, and sleep. It also showed protective effects from exposure to natural environments on mental health and cognitive function. Additionally, it provided evidence of positive associations between nature and higher levels of physical activity, and lower levels of cardiovascular disease. (1) Why wouldn’t we try to get into nature more? We certainly have nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain.
Nature’s benefits are facilitated by all of the senses. According to environmental psychologist Lee Chambers, “Studies have shown we can have a physiological response to being in natural environments, reducing our heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension. There can also be a level of psychological restoration, with the lowering of cortisol, improved concentration, and feeling a deeper sense of connection.” (2) All of these benefits may be happening whether we are aware of them or not. We just simply have to get outside.
More studies need to be done to show how much time in nature yields a benefit to our wellness. Some studies show even small amounts, like access to a window or a photo of a nature scene provide some benefit. Others show that spending time greater than or equal to 120 minutes increased reports of good health and high well-being. (3) These studies show that access to nature in any amount appears to provide a benefit, much like the recommendation for physical activity. Some nature is better than no nature.
Our modern society
“We have gained convenience and efficacy, but at the cost of abstraction, the changes within our bodies no longer seem connected to the world around us, giving us the illusion that we are independent of our environment and unaffected by it. Thus we have built environments that lack elements, such as color and light, that are essential to our well-being.” (4)
Consider for a moment what your average day looks like. You get up and get ready, go to work in a car or on a train, you may work in a building sitting behind a screen. You may eat lunch at your desk, then you go home. You sit in your home and watch another screen. And repeat. Although this is somewhat simplistic in terms of what our day is like, it paints a picture of how little we get outside and how little we move.
We have built environments that are safe and comfortable but may be missing important elements that contribute to our overall joy and well-being. The good news is that we can bring some of these things into our homes and our spaces and hopefully that will increase (even subtly) our wellness. Let’s look at some of these ways mentioned in Lee’s book, Joyful. (4)
Incorporate nature in your life today
Bring some natural elements into your home or work, like plants and flowers. These can help even more if you don’t have access to windows or natural light.
Put up photos of natural scenes.
Find access to windows, especially with views of nature like trees, plants and water.
Get outside, the more wild and diverse the landscape the better and more restorative it will be.
Hear nature sounds and smell the outdoors to help awaken all your senses.
Add color and lighting and energy to spaces that need a boost.
Take a vacation to a place very different from where you live and work. Draw and recall these memories when in need of a spark in a drab season. Post pictures of these places in your space.
Forest bathing; simply relaxing in the presence of trees has been shown to increase a certain type of white blood cells that are critical to the immune system.
Start a nature journal. This can teach us to be more observant and appreciative of our natural surroundings and store the memories for later reference.
Own a pet or visit the zoo. Animals can do a lot for us and are important for so many reasons.
April can often be a good time to reflect on your relationship with nature. How are you connected with the earth and with nature or how are you not? What positive impact does nature have in your life? My family and I like to visit National Parks, and try to visit at least one every year. I’ve been incorporating these photos into Walk With Us Wednesdays on my social media. It allows me the chance to reflect on what it was like to visit these amazing parks and hopefully inspire others to get outside for a walk, visit a park, or simply enjoy the photo. I am going to try to be more purposeful this summer, to get outside more with my kids, and just soak up all the benefits nature has to offer us.
Giving back is also important to our well-being, so after figuring out what you need to take from nature to improve your wellness, consider how to give back to it as well. For example, cleaning up trash on a walk is a simple way to give back. Small steps add up over time, and we can all do a little more to give and receive from nature and our earth, so we can benefit for generations to come.
“In every walk in nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”
-John Muir
References:
Lee, Ingrid Fetell. (2021). Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. Little, Brown Spark.
