Nature can significantly boost our physiological health and mental wellbeing – but you don't need to go totally off-grid to feel the benefits. Here, Professor Kathy Willis shares 7 simple ways you can get closer to nature in everyday life.
Listen to birdsong
When walking in the countryside or even an urban park, I listen for tuneful birdsong. This is because when we hear the songs of bird species such as robins, warblers and song-thrushes, the rustling of wind through the leaves of trees or gentle trickling of streams, the same sorts of reactions in our bodies are triggered as when seeing green vegetation: automatic changes occur in our nervous systems, and we become less stressed both physically and mentally.
However, not all bird sounds are calming. It has also been shown that the loud screeching of crows and other large birds, where their sound is a short punctuated single loud noise rather than a tuneful melodic song, can increase stress not decrease it, and this is the same the world over, from studies in the US and Europe to Japan – no-one finds the sound of screeching birds calming.
Add greenery to your desk
I now have green plants on my desk and have changed my computer screen saver to show landscapes, or yellow and white flowers. I also take short breaks (a minute or so), looking out of the window on to a green horizon as often as possible. Doing this automatically triggers changes that make you physiologically and psychologically less stressed, including a lowering of the heartbeat, increased neural activity in areas of the brain associated with calming and a psychological reduction in anxiety.
A number of clinical studies are now showing this. One of my favourites is where participants sat at a desk either seeing on their computer screensaver a view of a forest with lots of green vegetation, or an urban scene such as the skyline of London. While doing so, various clinical measures were taken to assess their physical and mental state. Within 90 seconds, significant differences emerged showing that when looking at green horizons they were much calmer, physically and mentally.
And this doesn’t just happen when you are already feeling fairly calm in the first place. Other studies also show that if you have a stressful incident, you recover much faster – your stress levels reduce quicker – if you look at green plants or on to a green horizon.
Stop to smell the flowers
When walking in gardens with herbaceous borders, I stop at the flowers. I also have diffusers in my home puffing out scents from cedar and Japanese cypress trees. Experiments of participants smelling the woody-peppery scent emitted from these trees, both in clinical settings and walking in forests, show that after inhaling these compounds, they have significantly elevated levels of natural killer cells in their blood. These elevated levels also remain for a number of days after the walk. This is an important finding and one that we should all take note. Natural killer cells are the cells that attack cancer and virus cells. Elevated levels in our blood could provide an important defence against some of the diseases many of us will face in our lifetimes.
Be tactile
Touch natural wood and leaves with your hands. This is because it can reduce blood pressure and make you less stressed. Several studies have shown this, for example, comparing individuals’ heart rate and other stress indicators when stroking a wood surface or touching leaves compared to aluminum or glass, all of the same temperature. It would appear that touching wood and leaves makes us feel calmer.
Garden with your gloves off
Studies indicate that when we touch the soil and vegetation, our skin and gut show a large increase in the diversity and abundance of good microbes; we have, in effect, adopted the signature of nature’s microbiome. Furthermore, by improving our gut microbiome in this way, various metabolic processes appear to be triggered, resulting in higher ‘good’ t-cells in our blood; these cells are important for providing enhanced functioning of the immune system.
Walk in green spaces
I go for walks in green spaces for at least 20 minutes, three times a week. A number of studies now suggest this amount of time gains the greatest health benefits. For example, participants from faculty and staff at the University of Michigan who undertook a nature experience (sitting, walking or a mixture of both in a park) three times a week over an eight-week period, found that the greatest reduction in their stress levels occurred after 20 minutes. More than this, there was no significant additional benefit, less than this and the benefits were not so great. Even more interesting and highly relevant for those of us who don’t necessarily like running, the maximum benefit appeared to be gained for those who both walked and sat down!
Head to the park
When going for a walk or run, do so in the local park rather than on the street. By doing this, you gain many more health benefits for the same amount of effort. For example, one study showed that male participants who walked for 15 minutes, at the same pace and keeping everything else as constant as possible, such as no coffee or alcohol in the previous 24 hours, showed significant differences in their physiological and psychological wellbeing after they walked, depending on their route. Those who had walked in the park were much calmer, had lower blood pressure and were happier.
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