How can nature benefit your health?

It might seem obvious that spending time outdoors is good for your health, whether you’re walking in the park to clear your head or your gardening. Spending time outside is linked to a variety of benefits including reducing stress, depression and anxiety and can even help improve your mood. Here we look at how nature can benefit your health!

Get some fresh air and reduce your stress levels

You may have experienced stress at some point in your life, it might have been at work, during a house move, or receiving some unwanted news. Being in an unpleasant environment when you’re stressed out doesn’t really help and can contribute to elevating your blood pressure and heart rate.

Immersing yourself in a pleasant environment can reverse the effects that stress has on you and can help you feel better emotionally. Scientists have shown that by surrounding yourself in a green space, like a park, forest or field, can prove to be a great stress relief and can also contribute to increasing social interaction, help to relieve mental illnesses and it encourages physical exercise.

If you find yourself feeling stressed then head outside for a quick walk or plan some outdoor activities into your schedule. If you don’t have time to immerse yourself around some greenery, then listening to natural outdoor sounds can have a similar effect, research has shown.

Absorb your daily dose of Vitamin D

Spending time outdoors provides the perfect chance for you to stock up on your dose of vitamin D, which plays a crucial part when it comes to your health. Vitamin D has multiple health benefits including:

• Maintaining healthy bones
• Supporting the immune system, nervous system and brain
• Reducing the risk of developing diabetes
• Prevention of cancer development
• Supporting pregnancy and reducing the risks of developing complications
• Supporting lung and cardiovascular health

Research shows that those who have low vitamin D levels are at a greater risk of depression, and researchers believe this is because vitamin D is important when it comes to brain function and nutrient levels. It’s also important to understand how to protect yourself from the sun effectively check out our tips here!

Become more sociable

The rate to which we spend time in front of screens each day has dramatically increased over the last 20 years, and unsurprisingly this too is linked to depression and anxiety as it can cause isolation. Spending more time outside is a great way to become more sociable and can improve your mental and emotional health.

Exercising in particular outdoors can be a great way to meet new people and has further health benefits, including a harder workout, cleaner air and helps improve your overall physical health. In particular, children can benefit from spending outdoors as they can make new friends, it can help build their confidence levels, promotes creativity and imagination, teaches about responsibility, gets them active, and it can help reduce stress and fatigue.