A family medicine professor has identified four main benefits of being surrounded by nature.
Sara L Warber of the University of Michigan has studied the benefits humans experience when they get out in nature.
Physical: People tend to be more active when out and about, Warber says. When people repeatedly go out for walks or just enjoy the outside, they tend to move more, conferring benefits on the immune and endocrine systems. Blood pressure can also improve.
Mental: Thinking improves when people experience nature. They begin to have a sense of well-being, less stress, and less depression. They might also recover more quickly from stress. Group walks are especially helpful.
Emotional: People in parks , camp settings, or group activity, like bird watching, experience more positive emotions.
Spiritual: Spending time in nature gives adults a sense of transcendence, serenity and tranquility.
Warber studied park users in the United Kingdom and found that the most people reported feeling relaxed.
Writer Michael Grothaus tried his own experiment to discover if his city spirit could be calmed by parks. Turned out it was. He wrote in Fast Company that after dedicating no less than one hour in nature, he immediately felt less stressed. It was as if the parks acted like a cocoon, sheltering him from city noises and his own racing thoughts.
After two weeks, he found her overall mood improved.
By the third week, he felt more creative.
On the fourth week, he was surprised and excited to realize his memory improved and he no longer needed to write out a list of tasks.
Warber said everyone could benefit from an hour of nature immersion each day.
