5 Benefits of Connecting with Nature

Why Nature is So Important

It feels good to get out and relax in nature. It’s time out from the stresses of everyday life, space, and clean air to breathe and take some time for ourselves. But did you also know that there are scientifically proven health benefits to connecting with the natural world?[1], [2]

Here’s how being in the outdoors is good for you.

1. Nature reduces stress, anxiety, and depression

Being out in nature has a measurable effect on your stress levels. They go right down, also lowering your risk of anxiety and depression. A day spent outside has a positive impact on mood. For this reason alone, it’s essential to spend time regularly outside. Even if you live and work in high-rise glass and steel buildings, having a dose of the natural world can help lift your mood, cognitive function, and mental health. Whether it’s a walk in the park or even having a plant on your desk or being able to look out of the window, any connection with nature will help.

Worry doesn’t hold up well when surrounded by nature in all its glory. Those who have panic disorder find a lot of positive benefits from time spent in nature, reducing panic attacks significantly in strength and duration.

2. Connecting with nature is healing

Studies have shown that even spending as little as ten minutes in a green space affects your brain chemistry in positive ways. You’ll find yourself feeling more energetic after the break, with longer-lasting effects, increasing both creativity and productivity.

It also helps your immune system function better. Scientists have found more than twenty pathways or connections between exposure to nature and improved health, protecting you from heart disease, depression, and diabetes.

3. Nature changes your perceptions of the world.

When life is overwhelming, nature helps to restore personal balance. Doing something outdoors not only puts your focus elsewhere but helps you to see your problems more clearly and puts things back into perspective.

Researchers have found that walking through a rural area changed the study participants’ attitudes toward their to-do list. They saw their tasks as more manageable than participants who walked through city streets.

People who exercise outdoors move faster, have a lowered perception of effort, enjoy their exercise more, and are more likely to stick to their routine than people using a gym.

4. Nature is great for your mental health

It feels good to be near the ocean, a river, or a waterfall because the air near moving water is full of negative ions that can act as natural anti-depressants. It’s the same effect as the change in the air after a thunderstorm when the air is no longer oppressive but clean and fresh.

There are now many studies which show that people living in green areas, or who have access to green spaces in cities, have significantly better mental wellbeing than people who live cut off from nature. Even having an aquarium, houseplants, or a view onto green space can help.

Nature isn’t a miracle cure for diseases. But by interacting with it, spending time in it, experiencing it, and appreciating it we can reap the benefits of feeling happier and healthier as a result. — Lucy McRobert, Nature Matters Campaigns Manager for The Wildlife Trusts

5. Nature benefits the physical areas of life

Looking at a landscape or out of a window at green trees has shown marked improvements in various areas of life. What else can time spent with nature do?[3]

• Lowers blood pressure
• Reduces heart rate
• Reduces inflammation
• Improves eyesight
• Boosts immune system
• Shortens time spent sick
• Shortens healing time post-surgery
• Reduces chances of getting cancer

Perhaps the most significant benefit to being in nature is the positive effect on who we are inside. The spiritual part of yourself comes alive when exposed to nature. Part of this has to do with the tangible reminder of the interconnectedness of all things: plants, animals, trees, people. Together we make up this world where we live.

[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/scientific-benefits-of-nature-outdoors-2016-4?op=1#10-improved-mental-health-10

[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20160420-how-nature-is-good-for-our-health-and-happiness

[3] “It’s official — spending time outside is good for you.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180706102842.htm

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