If you’ve ever felt calm after a walk in the park or forest, it’s not just an impression. Science shows that contact with nature causes changes in brain activity linked to calmness, writes BBC.
Spending time in green environments can help reduce stress hormones, improve blood pressure, calm heart rate, and may even positively affect gut health.
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You don’t need to spend hours in the mountains or forest to reap these benefits.
According to studies, the greatest impact can be achieved after about 20 minutes in nature.
Even a walk during your lunch break in the park, a few times a week, can bring benefits for body and mind.
1. The body relaxes without you realizing it
The sight of trees, the smell of the forest, the rustle of leaves, or birdsong immediately affect the autonomic nervous system, the network of nerves that controls involuntary body functions like heartbeat and breathing.
This can even happen during a simple visit to a nearby park.
According to Kathy Willis, professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, being in nature triggers changes such as: lower blood pressure; slower heart rate and improved heart rate variability.
All of these are linked to a greater state of physical calm.
A study in the United Kingdom, involving around 20,000 people, found that those who spent at least 120 minutes per week in green spaces were more likely to report better health and higher psychological well-being.
Because of these results, some countries have launched programs – where people are directed toward activities in natural settings to improve physical and mental health.
2. Nature helps balance hormones
The body’s hormonal system is also affected by being in nature.
According to researchers, spending time outdoors helps lower levels of cortisol and adrenaline, two hormones that rise when the body is under stress or anxiety.
One study showed that people who stayed in a hotel room for three days and inhaled the scent of Japanese cypress oil (Hinoki) had: a significant decrease in adrenaline and an increase in protective immune system cells.
These cells, called natural killer cells, help the body fight viruses and harmful cells.
Even two weeks after exposure to this scent, their levels remained higher.
According to Professor Ming Kuo from the University of Illinois, nature ‘calms what needs calming and strengthens what needs strengthening.’
3. Nature’s scent has a powerful impact
It’s not just the sights and sounds of nature that affect us. The scents of trees and soil also play an important role.
Plants release natural chemical compounds into the air, and some of them can enter the body through breathing.
For example, the scent of a pine forest can help calm the body within just 90 seconds, and the effect can last about 10 minutes.
The calming effect of scents is not only linked to memory or personal experiences.
A study showed that even very young babies, who have not yet formed emotional associations with certain scents, calmed down when a scent known for its relaxing effects, such as limonene, was diffused in the environment.
4. Nature also helps gut health
Besides affecting the mind, nature can also influence the gut microbiome – the community of millions of beneficial microorganisms living in our body.
Soil and plants contain beneficial bacteria, similar to those found in some probiotic products.
Researchers say that exposure to some of these microorganisms can help the immune system; positively influence mood and strengthen the body’s defenses.
Plants also release natural substances called phytoncides, which may have protective properties against certain harmful microorganisms.
According to infectious disease scientists, contact with soil and nature acts as a ‘stimulus’ for the immune system, helping it to respond better.
How to bring nature into your home?
Not everyone can go to the forest often, but even small elements of nature in the daily environment can bring benefits.
Experts suggest: placing flowers in the home, especially white or yellow flowers, which have been linked to calming effects; using natural scents, such as essential oils with compositions similar to those of trees, and viewing images of nature.
Even a photograph of a forest or a green view from the window can cause calming changes in brain activity and lower stress levels.
According to researchers, any contact with nature – even small – can help improve physical and mental health.
