If there was a medicine that would reduce the symptoms of - or even cure - anxiety, extreme mood swings, depression, obesity and constant worrying and stress, would you take it?
Living in a negative state of being or an unhealthy physical or mental condition is almost the norm instead of the exception for people living in this day and age. Therefore, the market for antidepressants and weight loss medicines are skyrocketing to help us deal with life. Luckily there is a very effective remedy which you can find right on your doorstep. Well, just beyond your doorstep.
Benefits being involved with nature
Philosopher Daniel Dennett described the secret of happiness as follows; “The secret to happiness is finding something more important than you are, and dedicate your life to it.”
By sharing this quote, I’m not implying that we’re not important, that would be a silly thing for me to do. However, I do believe that in a world where our main focus is on ourselves, our mental health suffers greatly. When our minds are consumed by thoughts about ourselves, our goals, needs and our place in society, there lurks a great risk of losing sight of things bigger than ourselves that can bring us great happiness. Being immersed in something larger than ourselves, such as nature, helps us relativise and put our thoughts and emotions into perspective.
Just a few minutes in nature brightens up a tired brain. People who feel connected with nature report being happier, and it supports the feeling of meaning and purpose in life. It fosters more compassion towards ourselves, the people around us, and the world.
The drug that has consistently shown significant positive effects on our physical and mental health is simply going for a walk in nature, be with nature or even being aware of nature around you. I know it might be hard to believe that being in and connected with nature is so powerful, especially when you are struggling with severe depression or anxiety, or just not feeling great about life. But hear me out for just a few minutes and I will amaze you with some facts.
Spending time in nature has cognitive, emotional and existential benefits.
Walking in nature decreased feelings of depression and anxiety more than walking in urban areas.
Your cortisol levels decrease significantly, and your mood improves more when you walk in nature compared to watching nature scenes on a screen or physical exercise. (the researchers got very creative with the control groups)
Experiments have found that being exposed to a natural environment improves your working memory (short-term memory responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information needed for cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension), cognitive flexibility (mental ability to switch between thinking about different concepts or to adapt to new and unexpected situations), and attentional control (ability to focus attention on relevant tasks or stimuli while ignoring distractions).
When we just look at the contribution of the steps walked, study finds that health benefits begin at between 2,500 and 2,700 steps a day. The magic number to defend yourself against cardiovascular disease is 7,000 steps, and the greatest reduction in the risk of mortality is seen at about 9,000 steps a day. All of this depends on age and weight, but the 10,000 steps a day guideline is a busted myth.
Just a few minutes in nature brightens up a tired brain. People who feel connected with nature report being happier, and it supports the feeling of finding meaning and purpose in life. It fosters more compassion towards ourselves, the people around us, and the world.
The environment benefits from nurturing us because we tend to be more thoughtful and nurturing towards nature when we are more involved with it. Inherently, one could say that as we start caring more about and for nature, there is more nature that can nurture us. The dependence between the caring attributes of people and nature creates a virtuous circle, showing that to care for is to be cared for.
How to make it work for you!
If you want to get the most out of nature nurturing you, there are a variety of things you can try.
First, you don’t need to disappear into nature for hours. Just 5 minutes can already do the trick. Anything is better than not going out at all.
That said, I believe in the saying – if you feel you don’t have time for a 10-minute walk, go for a twenty-minute walk!
But again, it's more important that you get into nature than worry about doing it a certain way to experience the benefits. Even just sitting in nature and listening to the birds will calm your nervous system. Experimental research showed that spending 2 hours a week in nature positively affected people’s mood compared to those who spent less time. It also showed that it doesn’t matter how these two hours are divided over the 7 days, whether it’s 20 minutes every day or 1 hour on two days
I would like to zoom in on how you can get the most out of going for a walk in nature.
Let’s assume you have time for a 30-minute walk today:
Thoughts at the beginning and end of your walk: Be aware of your thoughts during the first five minutes of your walk. Are they all over the place? Do you think this is a waste of time? Maybe your brain is reminding you of everything you should be doing instead. That’s completely normal! Acknowledge these thoughts but keep walking and try to focus on what you see and hear around you. Then, try to be aware of your thoughts after 20 minutes, or during the last 5 minutes of your walk. Have your thoughts changed? Is your narrative different? Do you feel your thoughts have been put in perspective and might be more positively flavoured? This might not happen the first time you go for a walk (just because someone told you so in an article), but you will be surprised how quickly your brain and nervous system will thank you for the calmness induced by the walk by soothing your thoughts and relax your body and mind.
Block time in nature. Especially when you start trying to create this new habit of going out into nature, don’t let it be determined by luck or chance that you just managed to have a bit of time that day. Block a moment in your day that you can commit to being in nature.
Be honest with yourself about what you need. Do you feel you need calmness because you are stressed? Go for a walk and pay attention to the smells, sounds and sights around you. Do you feel like you need to get out and craving some social time? Invite a friend. Do you feel you need a distraction? Go on a bit of an adventure and walk somewhere new where you have to find your way. Please don’t get lost - this tends to increase stress levels.
I’m not writing this to point out the obvious. This is meant as a reminder and a reassurance that all the little decisions made towards being in and caring for nature will contribute to your physical and mental well-being. It’s also a reminder of the power of nature. If we would like for nature to nurture us, I believe we should try our best to nurture nature where we can.
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