The Importance of Getting Out in Nature for Your Mental Health
Written By: Irene Eastland, LCMHC
Have you ever felt stuck? Creatively stuck? Emotionally stuck? Or stuck in distractions rather than being focused? You’re not alone. In recent years, studies have shown people are spending roughly 2 hours outside per week. I know, this sounds unrelated, but stay with me. Two hours out of 168 hours in a week is spent outdoors, the rest is indoors or maybe sometime in between going to the car and going inside. What if I told you, to be at your best mentally, physically, and emotionally, you need roughly 60 minutes each day of time outside? But most people are getting only 2 hours per week. If you’re feeling stuck, mentally, emotionally, creatively or otherwise - it’s time to get outside. Let’s talk about why going outside gets you unstuck, how much time you need to spend outdoors to see a benefit, and what the long-term benefits are of spending more time outdoors.
The Why, The How, and The What of Spending Time in Nature
Why Going Outside Matters
When you choose to spend time outside, you will likely find yourself feeling less anxious, less stressed, less overwhelmed. The reason you feel better is because serotonin (one of the happy chemicals in your brain) levels increase, you also get vitamin D, which can reduce the risk of depressive symptoms, and if you’re outside you might be moving around which increases endorphins (also associated with happiness or improved mood). While these are not the only things that happen when you go outside, they are the main reasons going outside makes you feel less bleh. Feeling less bleh will help you to be more productive at work, more creative, and less distracted. Doesn’t that sound awesome? The best part is, accessing this is as simple as stepping outside each day.
How Much Time do you Need to See The Benefits?
Even if you find it difficult to get outside in general, it might be helpful to note that you don’t have to spend hours and hours outdoors to see a benefit to your mental health. Studies show the following times and what benefits you gain from each.
Spending just 15 minutes outside can decrease overall stress levels, balance out cortisol levels, and help you feel less anxious overall. All that in just 15 minutes! I know, sometimes 15 minutes sounds like a long time. So, if you struggle with the idea of spending 15 minutes outside, tell yourself you’ll spend 5 minutes only just to see how you feel. Once you’ve reached the 5 minute threshold, see how you’re feeling, maybe see if you can ask yourself for another 5 minutes. Once you’ve done that 5 minutes, try for another 5 if you’re feeling up for it! The key here is to take it 1 minute at a time, 1 moment at a time, and letting the moments pass where you feel the urge to return to your indoor spaces.
If you’re struggling to find the patience for the 5 minutes to be up, try this exercise. Find a tree, a patch of grass, snow, or whatever is nearest to you. Begin examining and inspecting your chosen item. Walk yourself through these questions: What does it look like? What color is it? What texture does it look to have? Is it small or large, or medium? What are the small features on the tree or other object you’ve chosen to look at? Mention all the details to yourself either in your mind or out loud. Continue this process for that object as long as you can, then find another. Soon you’ll likely have done 5 minutes without realizing it.
Does this sound like brain trickery? It is! You’re working on changing your mind’s attitude towards the outside world, and by focusing on something else besides the negative thoughts of “I don’t want to do this”, or “this is ridiculous”, you’re focusing externally on something entirely different and unrelated. Hopefully this exercise can help you to stay outside longer, and soon you’ll enjoy your outdoor time. Let’s look at what benefits of 15 minutes of outside time and beyond!
20 Minutes
If you add 5 minutes to your already completed and impressive 15 minutes outside, you will find an increase in your ability to focus, get work done, and feel happier. You may not notice it immediately, but your cognition improves the longer you spend outside - especially if you’re near water or very green spaces (think lots of trees and grass). If you want to go for 20 minutes, try the same exercise from the 15 minutes section. If you’d like to get more active, try to take a mindful walk, set a steady but easy to stay with pace. Walk for 10 minutes in one direction, and walk back for 10 minutes in the opposite direction. While on this walk, take the same exercise from the 15 minute block. Look at trees, leaves, grass, or whatever is around you - make mental notes of the details you see, and mindfully engage with your surroundings. Do you hear wind? Is it soft or loud? Do you hear any animals? What sounds do you notice as you walk? Being mindful as you walk can make this 20 minute experience feel like 1 or 2 minutes, and it comes with loads of benefits.
20 Minutes & Beyond
After 20 minutes, the benefits of being outdoors continue to skyrocket. If you’re gardening, hiking, biking, walking, or just enjoying the nature around you, you’ll feel less anxious, less stressed, less distracted, and less mental fog. In fact, some suggest that spending more time outside between 20 to 120 minutes per day can increase your self-esteem and confidence levels! Talk about free mood boost! Who wouldn’t want to feel better about themselves just by getting outside each day?
So, what happens if you only spend a little time outside per week, month or year? What will your body do in response? The benefits of spending time outside are clear, yet, what we really need to see now is how negatively it can impact us to spend too much time inside. Let’s get into it.
What if you only go outside a few times per month or each year?
As discussed in the beginning of this article, not going outside regularly will result in less mental clarity, feeling stuck, anxiety, and even depression. In addition to this negative side effects of not spending time outdoors, individuals may experience lower vitamin D levels, difficulties sleeping, and potential for bone density loss due to lack of sun exposure (i.e. low vitamin D). To refrain from “beating a dead horse”, it’s safe to say there are long-term consequences to having limited time outdoors. When we spend time inside, we are stifling ourselves, and ultimately giving our brains less of a chance to stimulate feel good chemicals, and leaving areas for creativity, productivity, and clearer thinking inactive.
Okay, so now we know it’s not a great idea to spend all of our time indoors. It’s time to get outside, we know this to be the best option. For how long? At least 15 minutes each day! Or at least 15 minutes every other day. This regular interval of spending time outside can impact every function of your life, making you feel so much better - as we can see from all the information in this blog. So, you’re outside, you’ve done the activities suggested earlier in the article… Now what?
Some ideas on how to spend your time outside
As per some of our own counselors here at Life in Bloom Counseling, one of the best activities to do outside is hiking. Hiking not only gives you the ability to get outdoors, you also get a view for your efforts. You get to see new scenery along the way, and you have the pleasure of saying “I did this” at the end of your hike.
Some of us go on the “wild side”, exploring the forests, looking for sheds from moose and deer alike. They lose their antlers around December to February, and when the snow melts, it’s the perfect time to go exploring the wilderness to see if you can find these sheds.
During the summer months, it can be fun to go swimming in the local lakes, maybe even a nice clean pond. Or take up your local community pool. Of course, summer may be the easiest time to find things to do so let’s talk about what you can do in the winter.
In the winter months, though it is often cold, snowy, and icy where some of our counselors live, we find ourselves outside doing a multitude of things. Some of us enjoy having bonfires when it’s not too cold. If it’s feeling too cold (say 0 degrees fahrenheit), it’s okay to just go out, feed the birds, and take a few deep breaths before returning to the warmth of your home. Getting out to do this a few times per day will get you that 15 minutes you need of sunshine (or clouds), and some outside air.
Finding a new winter hobby, such as snowboarding, ice skating, skiing, or cross country skiing can liven your winters and help you get the much needed outside time. Plus, you’ll be having so much fun you’ll forget it’s exercise! Being outdoors is crucial at all times of the year to help your mind stay sharp and your body stay healthy.
Conclusion
Whether you’re experiencing writer’s block, or zoning out at your work desk, you may be able to fix these problems with 15 minutes outdoors. Even this short amount of time spent outside can drastically improve your mood and well-being. Continuing to go outside regularly, will give you even more clarity, freeing you from that “stuck” feeling we talked about at the beginning of this blog. If you’re like me, going outside in the winter doesn’t seem all that appealing, however, this is the most important time of the year to head outside every day - especially to get sunshine. Low vitamin D levels don’t help anyone! So, to sum it all up get outside and implement it as a regular part of your day to help you get unstuck mentally and emotionally.
Your life is always in bloom, make it something beautiful today by going outside and soaking in the sunshine and fresh air!
Sources
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature#:~:text=For%20those%20with%20the%20lowest%20levels%20of,space%20(Engemann%2C%20K.%2C%20et%20al.%2C%20PNAS%2C%20Vol.&text=Spending%20time%20in%20nature%20is%20linked%20to,in%20mood%2C%20mental%20health%20and%20emotional%20well%2Dbeing.
https://nypost.com/2024/05/11/lifestyle/americans-are-craving-outdoor-time-more-than-ever-before/
https://www.webmd.com/balance/ss/slideshow-health-benefits-nature