Two hours a week of this will improve your health

Getting back to nature may be the healthiest thing you can do for yourself. A myriad of studies have now documented what we should have known all along—green spaces are just plain good for the body and the mind.

In fact, according to one of the latest studies, published in Scientific Reports, people who spend at least 2 hours per week in nature are more likely to report that they are in good health and have good psychological well-being, compared with those who don’t get any exposure at all. Positive results peaked at 200-300 minutes/week, and it didn’t matter how the 120-minute dose of nature was divided—whether a long 2-hour walk or several shorter ones, the results were the same.

“It’s well known that getting outdoors in nature can be good for people’s health and well-being but until now we’ve not been able to say how much is enough. The majority of nature visits in this research took place within just 2 miles of home so even visiting local urban greenspaces seems to be a good thing. Two hours a week is hopefully a realistic target for many people, especially given that it can be spread over an entire week to get the benefit,” said lead author Mathew P. White, PhD, environmental psychologist and senior lecturer, European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, United Kingdom.

Dr. Green’s co-author Professor Terry Hartig, PhD, professor, Environmental Psychology, Department of Psychology, and Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden agreed:

“There are many reasons why spending time in nature may be good for health and well-being, including getting perspective on life circumstances, reducing stress, and enjoying quality time with friends and family. The current findings offer valuable support to health practitioners in making recommendations about spending time in nature to promote basic health and well-being, similar to guidelines for weekly physical.”

Here are some of the other scientifically documented benefits of immersing yourself in nature:

Green spaces are good for your mental health. Living in towns and cities with lots of green space can significantly improve your mental health, according to a study published in Environmental Science & Technology.

Moving to a place that has more green areas improved people’s mental health, and this effect lasted long after they had moved. Researchers analyzed data from over 1,000 people, focusing on those who moved to greener urban areas and those who moved to less green urban areas. Over 5 years, they found that folks who moved to “greener pastures” had immediate improvements in their mental health that were sustained for at least 3 years after moving. Conversely, those who moved to less green areas suffered a decrease in their mental health.

“We needed to answer important questions about how the effects of green space vary over time. Do people experience a novelty effect, enjoying the new green area after the move, but with the novelty then wearing off? Or do they take time to realize the benefits of their new surroundings as they gradually get to know local parks? What we've found suggests that the mental health benefits of green space are not only immediate, but sustainable over long periods of time,” said Dr. White, who was also an author on this study.

…and, good for your physical health. Living within a 1-km radius of green spaces was associated with a lower annual prevalence of 15 out of 24 disease clusters, including cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, mental illness, and respiratory, neurological, digestive diseases, according to a study by Dutch researchers. They looked at data from nearly 350,000 people, and found that this relation was strongest for anxiety disorders and depression, and stronger in children and in those in lower socioeconomic groups.

…and, make you smarter. The brain power of adults and children exposed to greenery seem to be enhanced by greenery as well. In adults, significant cognitive gains were seen after they took nature walks, according to research sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Children exposed to greenery exhibited gains in both attention and working memory, according to results from another study.  

Get dirty. It’s good for you. Microbes that are present in soil may be good for you, according to two studies. Specifically, exposure to Mycobacterium vaccae—a harmless and common soil bacterium—has been found to have surprisingly positive effects on the human body.

In one study, when M. vaccae was injected into patients with lung cancer, researchers found that it had no effect on beating back lung cancer but did significantly improve quality of life in patients. Patients were happier and experienced increased vitality and improved cognitive function.

In another study, published in Neuroscience, researchers found that when they injected M. vaccae into mice that were then put through stress testing, the inoculated mice exhibited significantly less stressed behavior than control mice. In fact, they determined that M. vaccae had actually activated the neurons that produce serotonin, and affected the neurons that activated immune responses.

So, get out there and immerse yourself in nature. Take a walk, eat your lunch outside, visit a park with your kids, or go for a hike in the woods. Your mind and body will reap the benefits.