As I write this, I am sitting on a mossy bench in the middle of the Finnerty Gardens. The wind and squirrels shake the trees as leftover rain falls from each leaf. It smells like mud, wet grass, and faint sweet flowers. In this moment I feel calm, tranquil, and whole.
In the past few weeks, life has gotten hectic. Juggling school, work, relationships, finances, and recovering from an injury- all while trying to improve my health and wellbeing- it's a challenge to say the least. No matter who you are, we all have responsibilities (whether it be kids to take care of or phone bills to pay) that we need to address in order to meet our basic needs. These basic needs, as proposed by Maslow, include physiological (food, water, warmth, rest) and safety needs (Maslow, 1943). Once those basic needs are met, Maslow suggests that humans are driven to fulfill their psychological needs, such as finding fulfilling relationships and increasing self-esteem. Based on some recent studies, I’d like to add one more need that may be psychological (though I feel it’s a basic need for myself!): time spent in nature.
A recent study surveyed over 20,000 people across the U.K. and compared their self-reported health and wellbeing with the number of minutes the participant spent in nature the week following the survey (White et al., 2019). The results may not surprise you! Those who spent 120 minutes or more in nature reported greater overall health and wellbeing.
When I first read this study I thought: this is an association, there must be other variables at play... right? In order to get to the garden I am currently sitting in, I needed to walk here- there’s a variable! I know exercise increases health and wellbeing, so is this one explanation? Another study challenges my exercise hypothesis. Park et al. found that individuals sitting and engaging in Shinrin-yoku, or taking in the forest atmosphere, showed physiological changes related to improved health and wellbeing (2010). These changes include lowered blood pressure, lower heart rate, decreased cortisol release, and lowered sympathetic nerve activity. From this information, we can no longer assume that exercise is solely responsible for the findings in the study by White et al.
What else does the 120 minutes in nature study teach us? White et al. points out that this improvement in health and wellbeing was reported if the time in nature was spread throughout the week or if it was just one day in nature, it just needed to total 2 hours or greater. They also described the time in nature as ‘recreational nature contact’, and defined the outdoors as “open spaces in and around towns and cities, including parks, canals and nature areas; the coast and beaches; and the countryside including farmland, woodland, hills and rivers… However this does not include: routine shopping trips or; time spent in your own garden.” (White et al., 2019). They also found that this 120 minutes threshold was consistent regardless of season!
Takeaways: If you are human, you will likely feel health and wellbeing benefits by increasing your recreational time in nature. Take a survey of your last 7 days- how much leisure time did you spend outdoors? If it was less than 2 hours throughout the week, can you find ways to increase your nature time daily? Or maybe simply start with one day per week. Get outside, take a breath of fresh air, and feel the relaxation in the reminder that you are truly home!
References
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396.
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
Park, B.J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T. et al. The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): evidence from field experiments in 24 forests
across Japan. Environ Health Prev Med 15, 18 (2010).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-009-0086-9
White, M.P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J. et al. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Sci Rep 9, 7730.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3
