You can improve your health without spending a penny. Rebecca Coleman reports for the Harvard Gazette on the mental and physical benefits of strolling through greenery. There’s substantial evidence that a simple walk in nature is good for our physical and mental health.
Walking in nature, especially among lots of tall trees, reduces stress and depression. It also strengthens your mental acuity, staves off inflammation, provides immunity from viruses, allows for better sleep and improves your lungs and heart, according the research.
The Japanese practice “forest bathing,” what they call shinrin-yoku. It involves taking a pause, slowing down, turning off electronics and soaking in the nature that surrounds you. The benefits come quickly, in an hour, in 20-minute increments every other day.
If you’re among lots of trees, you’ll reap the benefits of their essential wood oils, which strengthen your immunity as you breathe them in. If you’re among lots of plants, you’ll breathe in the terpenes they release that are anti-inflammatories, which can help fend off cancer and dementia.
The benefits for your brain are also significant. Walking in nature helps clear your head. It allows you to focus better and sharpens your memory. If you suffer from chronic stress, it will lower your cortisol levels, and, in the process, it will lower your blood pressure and ease your anxiety and depression.
Studies have also found that forest bathing increases your serotonin, which in turn helps you sleep longer and better, helping your mood, focus and energy.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Optimism reduces risk of dementia
- Common OTC drugs linked to cognitive impairment
- Medicare coverage of mental health care
- For your mental health, feed your brain
- Why social health is as important as physical and mental health
