How Nature Reduces Stress and Improves Mood

Spring is here and so many of our clients have expressed joy at the turning of the season. Much of the reason for being happy about our warmer weather is simply having the chance to be outside. It’s more comfortable, Its easier to move around but most of all, it just feels good. 

But do you ever wonder why you feel so good after spending time outside?

It turns out, there is some science behind it and a name, Its called Ecotherapy and here is why it works to reduce stress and improve mood

It reduces our cortisol.

Cortisol is a stress hormone, It rises in response to stress and affects almost every tissue in the body. Like everything in life, in correct doses, cortisol is vital for our optimal functioning. The issue is that cortisol production can go into overdrive in our busy, hectic world. Studies show that 20-30 minutes reduces that cortisol production by “down-shifting” a division of our nervous system, which brings us to our related next finding. 

It regulates our sympathetic system.

When you immerse yourself in nature (think, parks, lakes, trails)—your nervous system shifts from sympathetic (“fight or flight”) dominance to parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) activity, lowering stress responses, heart rate, and blood pressure. This effect, often called the biophilia effect, is measurable: studies show that both walking in nature and simply viewing natural landscapes can decrease salivary cortisol..

It actually can make us kinder.

Nature might also make us nicer. Nicer to other people, to ourselves and to  the planet.

John Zelenski, PhD, a professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues showed undergraduates either nature documentaries or videos about architectural landmarks. Then the participants played a fishing game in which they made decisions about how many fish to harvest across multiple seasons. Those who had watched the nature video were more likely to cooperate with other players, and also more likely to make choices that would sustain the fish population (Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2015).

In another experiment, Zelenski and his colleagues found that elementary school children acted more prosocially to classmates and strangers after a field trip to a nature school than they did after a visit to an aviation museum (Dopko, R. L., et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 63, No. 1, 2019 

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If you needed some reasons to get outside, we hope you have them! Sometimes we don't have the time to spend outside that we would like. Studies show that "nature-like" activities can still have an impact

Here are some tips to getting your dose of nature

• Move your desk to a window if possible

• Bring nature to you! Invest in a variety of houseplants

• Watch nature landscapes or documentaries

• Take a 15-20 minute walk in a park

• Listen to nature sounds in the background when doing a stressful task