Nature’s Nurture

Nature’s Nurture

One thing the lockdown has us all realized is the importance of nature. We cannot live without it and we cannot simply ignore it.

Everyone I know has struggled with anxiety, stress, and depression during the lockdown. Some of us were struggling with these before but realized it when the lockdown happened in our life.

I too went through the phase. But, one thing which kept me going was the walks around the neighborhood once a day. Slowly it became a habit. But sadly, the habit was broken during harsh winter months. Luckily, I was able to join or revive my habit back when the weather became fine enough to walk outside. Now I can proudly say I am a walker. And there is always something special about connecting with other living things around us.

With our current lifestyle, we are spending more and more time indoors in front of a screen or any other electronic device. So, we all need a little bit of “Vitamin N” in our lives (N – Nature). Vitamin N does not help only with our stress and depression but also helps in boosting our energy, revitalizes our health, and has tons of therapeutic health benefits too.

Not only walking or any other physical activity, spending time outside surrounded by nature has its positivity. For ages, we have all known that being in the presence of nature has a positive effect. But we all forgot how much exposure to nature was needed for a health-building nature experience.

It is not necessary to go out for a long walk or hike in the woods. They all are a great experience. But, just sitting and listening to the birds or watching a squirrel running or gazing at the greenery around from a deck or window or balcony can create wonders.

Studies show that spending only 10 minutes a day connecting with nature can reduce stress levels. Other studies confirm that spending two hours a week in nature promotes good physical and mental health. It is well documented that if someone is outdoors one tends to move around more and physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for poor health.

I know that it is not possible for everybody to cycle, walk, hike or trek regularly for 20 or more minutes every day due to lack of time or physical constraints. The alternate to this is to start. One can start by just opening a window every day. Looking out of a window onto a tree or some other greenery. One can have flower planters in one’s deck, window, or balcony. It just not only gives you a bit of outdoors inside or near you but also enhances the aesthetics of your surroundings. The main thing is to start somewhere. It will always lead to a big picture one day.

Some facts/studies of timely benefits of nature:

Sixty minutes connecting with nature – can boost memory and attention span by 20%. (You can take photographs while walking or hiking around the woods and soon you will realize that you have a beautiful collection of urban wildlife.)

Thirty minutes connecting with nature – sitting in a park or simply walking can lower blood pressure and heart rate. (You can meet someone interesting or make new friends.)

Twenty Minutes connecting with nature – it can reduce cortisol, the stress hormone.

Ten minutes with nature – it can alleviate depression.

It’s high time we all realize that nature is also an integral part of our health with diet, exercise and sleep.