Do you like spending time in nature?
Do you sense an improvement when you’re outdoors – even if it’s merely pulling out weeds? More composed when you stroll in the woods? More concentrated when you gaze at the mountains? More kind-hearted after observing a sunset?
To stimulate ourselves to spend more time in natural surroundings, hold these three benefits in the forefront of our minds:
Nature Improves Our Focus
You have a deadline. But. You. Just. Can’t. Focus!
Should you double your efforts and finish it? Or take a break and get some fresh air? The science suggests the latter, says Roe who conducted a study in which participants took a cognitive test before and after they were exposed to nature.
The result? “Being outdoors will help in changing your state of mind. It will aid in restoring your attentional capacity. It will relieve your cognitive fatigue,” reports Roe. “Consistently over literally hundreds of studies, cognitive attention enhances after exposure to nature.”
So, if you can’t calm your mind for the project at hand, prescribe yourself a dose of nature. It will help you get the job done after you take that walk.
Nature Helps Regulate Our Stress System
The next time you’re deliberating whether to finish that last assignment at your desk or spend an hour outside, here’s the reason to opt for the green: “Nature lowers stress levels,” says Roe.
To scientifically prove this, Roe monitored the ability of at-risk populations to access nature and examined how this influenced their stress levels. She correlated socioeconomic and housing data to the proximity of green spaces. Roe then measured the level of cortisol in people from stressed, low socioeconomic populations when they were in nature and when they weren’t. Cortisol is a naturally occurring hormone in our adrenal glands that helps control the body’s response to stress.
The result? The participants’ cortisol levels decreased when they were in natural, green locations.
So, do you often take the opportunity to be in nature to reduce stress?
Obtain physical energy from nature. One can obtain physical energy from nature through outdoor activities such as hiking in the forest, breathing fresh air by the sea or lake, going camping, getting moderate sun exposure to allow the body to produce vitamin D, and listening to the sounds of nature in the garden. This makes people feel refreshed and energetic.
Have you tried any of these activities recently to boost your energy?