It doesn’t need to be a huge thing either – even just nurturing a plant in your room, tending to a window box or playing with a pet outside can really bring positive gains to your sense of mental well-being. If you can’t get out to nature, see if you can bring a bit in to your home!
There’s no doubt that getting out for a daily walk provides no end of benefits for both mental and physical well-being. Here are our top ten reasons why we should all be getting out in nature more:
- Being in nature improves our general mood
- Getting out in nature ‘grounds’ us. It helps us connect to something bigger than us, it helps us to put things in perspective.
- Walking in nature reduces feelings of stress or anger
- Being in a ‘green space’ can help regulate anxiety or anxious feelings
- Helps us take time out and feel more relaxed
- A good walk can improve our confidence and self-esteem
- A daily walk helps us be more active and therefore physically fitter
- Exposure to sunlight and vitamin D helps combat symptoms of Season Affective Disorder (SAD) and helps keep your serotonin levels up. This helps raise your energy and keeps your mood calm and positive.
- Increasing oxygen to your brain boosts your energy, overall vitality and sharpens your focus
- When you’re out walking in nature, your body releases endorphins that interact with the opiate receptors of the brain. This can reduce the perception of pain and increase a sense of wellbeing.
| Did you know that…. Even if we might not be able to physically ‘get out’, just a glimpse of a landscape can change how we feel. It gives us the opportunity to slow the pace, to be ‘present’ in the moment. Even just looking at a natural scene is good for our health. |