🌳 Nature: Your Shortcut to Healing & Calm

Hello Elite Being!

Thanks for being here and reading through this newsletter. My intention is to share the tools that will help you to achieve the most elite version of you!

Lisa

Why Time in Nature is Important

I know that when I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed, hugging a tree is the best therapy. Being surrounded by green can solve any tense emotions and everything is put into perspective.

Among feeling good as the number one benefit, time in nature heals and helps us be more creative, have more generosity, and take less sick time. It can assist with mental and psychological wellbeing too! Add to that gathering with other humans and animals, and you have a recipe for the ultimate healing space. And it can happen in as little as 15 minutes.

Nature Stimulates Our Creativity and Memory

Spending more time outdoors nurtures our “nature neurons” and our natural creativity. For example, at the University of Michigan, researchers demonstrated that, after just an hour of interacting with nature, memory performance and attention spans improved by 20%. In workplaces designed with nature in mind, employees are more productive and take less sick time. This means plants indoors, fountains for connection to water, even connection to animals (doggies in the office!)

Nature Heals, Especially for Those with Mental Illness

Pennsylvania researchers found that patients in rooms with tree views had shorter hospitalizations! Compared to patients with the brick wall views, the patients with tree views experienced less of a need for pain medications, and the nurses received fewer complaints in their notes.

Nature can reduce depression and improve psychological wellbeing. Researchers in Sweden have found joggers who exercise in a natural green setting feel more restored and less anxious, angry, or depressed than people who burn the same amount of calories jogging in an urban environment.

The benefits are greater for those that suffer from mental illness.

In a study that discusses the benefits of "green exercise," which is physical activity done in nature, focusing on how this type of exercise can positively affect both short-term and long-term health.

Specifically, the study looked at how much green exercise is needed to improve self-esteem and mood, which are important for mental health. This study analyzed 10 different studies conducted in the UK involving over 1,200 people.

It looked at things like the intensity and duration of the exercise, as well as factors such as gender, age, and the type of natural environment where the exercise took place. The document also states that the benefits of green exercise are even more significant for individuals who have mental illness.

“Similarly all cohorts of participants experienced improvements in self-esteem and mood, however those suffering from mental illness experienced the greatest increases in self-esteem.”

Why Gathering is Important, Especially with Nature, Plants and Animals

Levels of neuro-chemicals and hormones associated with social bonding are elevated during animal-human interactions. Researchers at the University of Rochester report that exposure to the natural environment leads people to nurture close relationships with fellow human beings, value community, and to be more generous with money.

So Many Ways to Get Into Nature

So many “new” ways to connect to nature and be with others to really maximize your health and wellness. Groups such as family nature clubs, through which multiple families go hiking, gardening or engage in other outdoor activities together.

In the UK, families are forming “green gyms” to bring people of all ages together to do green exercise. How cool is that!?

Care farming is the use of farming practices for the stated purpose of providing or promoting healing, mental health, social, or educational care services. 

Learn more about care farming

Forest Bathing

The act of spending time in the forest is what the Japanese call shinrin-yoku, a term originating in the 1980s that means "bathing in the forest atmosphere," says Qing Li, a researcher on this topic and a professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo.

One study found that participants who walked in the forest for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon saw an increase in anti-cancer proteins and immune cells that kill tumors, with the effects lasting for at least seven days after. When doing this type of forest bathing, the effects can be felt up to 7 days after!

Being in nature, no rush, no other expectations is part of the healing and fun of Forest Bathing. Observing the birds, plants and even slowing down to feel the hum of the earth. This is the time to slow down, not do a cardio-heavy workout.

Ideally, you are surrounded by a forest, although that may not be possible for city dwellers. A park could be just as beneficial.

Ideally, you spend 2-6 hours in the forest. this is the amount of time to receive the full benefits- boost immunity, lower stress and cortisol levels. But, research also shows that in just 15 minutes, you will find relief from stress and anxiety.

Breath in the scents, take in the sounds and enjoy. Maybe do some light yoga and a mediation to really anchor in all of the good feelings.

Something to Try

1. Join me in person for some group nature therapy.

This Saturday, May 10 at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, 10 am.

FREE admission. Join me for a guided mediation, and creative practices to honor and welcome in nature as a tool for healing, support and grounding.

Bring a journal and pen to write.

2. Find a Trail for Hiking
   All Trails is a great app for finding local hikes and the free version has tons of features. You can filter by shade or incline or dog-friendly, to name a few options.

   All Trails

Sources 

10 Reasons Why We Need More Contact with Nature

What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for improving mental health?

The impact of urban walking on psychophysiological wellbeing.

Effects of Walking in a Forest on Young Women

The Science Behind Forest Bathing