Four health benefits of the outdoors

If you’ve ever felt calmer after a walk in the park or a walk in the woods, it’s not your imagination, it’s biology.

Being outdoors can trigger measurable changes in your body, such as lowering stress hormones, easing blood pressure, and even improving your gut health.

You don’t have to walk for hours to feel these benefits, because the maximum effect occurs after just 20 minutes; So even taking a walk to the park and eating a sandwich on the bench at lunch a few times a week can benefit your body and mind.

Here are four ways being in the middle of nature can help improve your health:

When you see green trees, smell pine, and hear the rustling of leaves or the sound of birds chirping, your autonomic nervous system (a network of nerves that controls unconscious processes) reacts instantly.

This can happen during a visit to the local park.

“We’re seeing changes in the body, such as lower blood pressure and heart rate variability, so your heart beats more slowly,” says Baroness Kathy Willis, professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford.

A study conducted in the United KingdomThe study, which included nearly 20,000 people, found that those who spent at least a total of 120 minutes surrounded by greenery each week were significantly more likely to report better health and greater psychological well-being.

The evidence for the benefits of spending time in nature is compelling enough; In some regions, so-called green social prescription, which connects people with nature to improve their physical and mental health, has been tried. positive impact on happiness and well-being.

Your body’s hormonal system also participates in the relaxation movement.

Spending time outside reduces levels of cortisol and adrenaline, hormones that rise when you’re stressed or anxious, says Willis.

“One study found that people who inhaled Hinoki (Japanese cypress) oil in a hotel room for three days saw a large decrease in the hormone adrenaline and a large increase in natural killer cells.”

Natural killer cells are cells that fight viruses in the body. Study participants still had high levels of natural killer cells in their bodies two weeks after inhaling the scent.

Essentially, nature “calms what needs to be calmed and strengthens what needs to be strengthened,” says Prof Ming Kuo of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: He summarized to the BBC.

“A three-day weekend spent in nature has a huge impact on our virus-fighting apparatus, and even after a month this effect can be 24% above the baseline value.”

Studies also show that short periods of time spent in nature show smaller but still lasting effects.

Smelling nature is as powerful as seeing and hearing it.

The scent of trees and soil is full of organic compounds released by plants, and “when you breathe them in, some molecules pass into your bloodstream.”

Willis says that the scent of the pine forest can calm you in just 20 seconds, and this effect lasts for about 10 minutes, and pine is a good example of this.

You might think the soothing effects of nature are all in your mind, but another study found that even very young babies, who have no memory of specific scents, calmed down when the scent of pine was wafted into the room they were in.

In addition to relaxing your mind, nature can also help strengthen your microbiome, as soil and plants are full of good bacteria.

“These are the same good bacteria that we pay for in probiotics or drinks,” explains Willis.

Prof Ming Kuo examined the impact on factors such as susceptibility to infection and mental health, and said some found breathing had the potential to improve your mood; and antimicrobial chemicals called phytoncides released by plants can help fight diseases.

Dr Chris van Tulleken says that as an infection scientist, he sees nature as an extremely challenging environment that “tickles your immune system”.

They let their children play with soil in the forest, which then enters their system through the nose or mouth.

Of course, not everyone can head to the woods on a whim, but the good news is that you don’t have to.

According to Willis, even small touches of nature in the home can make a difference.

Visually, flowers such as white or yellow roses have been shown to have the greatest calming effect on brain activity.

When it comes to scent, use a diffuser that contains essential oils like lavender, which can help you relax.

And if all else fails, even a forest photo can help.

Research shows that looking at pictures of nature on your laptop or simply looking at something green can trigger the same calming brainwave changes and reduce stress.

“Every contribution seems to work,” says Prof Ming Kuo.