Nurture in Nature

Spending a few minutes outdoors sky gazing, walking around the block or just going outside. You feel better and that’s what it’s all aboutSpending time outdoors can help combat depression, improve your memory, elevate your mood and even lower your blood pressure.

Here are just a few ways we can all benefit from spending time outdoors

Improve your short term memory

A study conducted at the University of Michigan found that short term memory is improved by 20% by walking in nature or even by contemplating an image of a natural scene. A group of students were given a brief memory test. After that they divided in to two groups. One group took a walk through the city. The other group took their walk through an arboretum. The group that walked through the arboretum improved their test score by an average of 20% for their original results. The group that walked through the city did not have consistently improved results.

People with a view of nature from the office window tend to have higher job satisfaction and less stress in the workplace.

A study published by the National Institute of Health goes in to great detail about the effects of interacting with nature and improvement in cognition for individuals with depression.

Create your own awe- improve your health

For those of us who suffer from Anxiety, Depression and even those with “sour mood” can be helped by a dose of AWE. The type of awe one finds by spending time in nature. When you experience the beauty of a flower, the green of the grass, the towering trees, the singing birds, the wonder of the bees and the many squirrels, rabbits and other woodland creatures combined with blue skies, magnificent clouds, the night sky, the sunrise, sunset and everything in between can bring a sense of awe and peace. The result? We feel better.

Increase your happy hormone

Feeling better fosters many physiological and psychological benefits to those of us willing to “nurture in nature. And, because spending time in nature can also elevate your serotonin (the happy hormone) and decrease your cortisol you can experience many health benefits, including lowering your blood pressure. By the way, the magic number of minutes of time spent outdoors, according to researchers is a minimum of 20 minutes.

Now might be just the perfect time to get some fresh air- see you outside!