It’s officially summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, and researchers from the Royal College of General Practitioners have discovered another great reason to get out and about and enjoy the beauty of the living world: a new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that just two hours a week in nature boosts your overall health and well-being. Whether you find your bliss beachside, in a meadow, on a mountain, or simply lounging in a local park, immersing yourself in a natural environment may offer similar health benefits to an equivalent amount of time spent exercising. In fact, you don’t have to move around at all. Just park yourself on a bench and let the outside in. Soothing snippets of birdsong, wind rippling through the leaves, or the gentle sound of the surf can calm the mind, lower blood pressure, and reduce depression. And the more diverse the natural environment, the better it is for your overall health, not to mention the health of the planet—making biodiversity conservation the ultimate win-win.
It’s not surprising that our brains and bodies respond positively to nature’s way; before we humans created and settled in towns and cities, we spent almost two million years depending on, and connected to, the wilderness for daily life support. If your current environment is more urban than woodland, and you can’t find time to take a walk on the wild side, we’ve pulled together some nightingale nocturnes, Pacific right whale rumblings, and terrestrial tree sounds to get you through to your next good-for-you, green getaway or forest bathing session. If you’d like to read more about the healing power of nature check out FWP’s recommended read The Nature Fix by Florence Williams.
Oh, and by the way, the next time you are on a summery park stroll, and you think it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas there’s a good reason for that. Researchers at the British Ecological Society studying the connection between mental health and exposure to biodiversity found that spending time in an urban green space can evoke that fa, la, la feeling you may experience on Christmas Day. As an added online bonus, the increase in very merry sentiment resulting from immersion in nature also seems to reduce the expression of negativity on Twitter for several hours post-park. We’ll raise a glass of peppermint nog to that! Cheers!
