3 Reasons Why Getting out into Nature Can Melt Away Your Stress
From time to time we all get a little stressed and worked up. Even the most naturally upbeat, optimistic, and cheerful of people is bound to have those moments when work is an endless painful grind, personal dramas mount, and anxiety and irritation hit an all-time high.
When we find ourselves falling into these unfortunate slumps, there are a bunch of different things we can do to help get back to a more Zen state of mind, calm our thoughts, and rediscover our point of equilibrium.
Meditation and vigorous exercise might help, but one of the most effective remedies is just to change environments for a while. While Northern California wildfire attorneys may need to visit the busiest cities they can find to get their minds off work, most of us can benefit dramatically from going in the opposite direction — from spending a weekend (or longer) relaxing in nature.
Here are a few reasons why getting out into nature can help you to calm your thoughts and let go of some of your stress.
Nature is completely detached from the hustle and bustle
When you’re in a national park, you are about as far from the normal hustle and bustle of modern living as it’s possible to be, which in turn means that you’re likely about as far away from the concerns of your job, and social media image, as you can possibly be (as long as you don’t spend the trip surfing the web on your phone).
Simply getting away from the environment which has been causing us stress, and putting ourselves in a completely different setting, can help us to breathe more deeply, let go of our worries, and put things into their proper context.
Nature has its own rhythms which can give you the space to breathe
Your working life no doubt has its rhythms, probably involving waking up to the scream of your alarm clock way too early, rushing to the office through the morning traffic, and then looking busy until you finally perk up enough to get some solid work done.
Nature has its own rhythms, and they’re generally more life-affirming and positive, at least when experienced in the context of a brief camping trip in safe territory.
When in a natural setting, you’ll be woken gently each day by the rising sun and the sound of birds, and lulled to sleep by the setting sun and the rustle of trees. The day-night cycle will rebalance your circadian rhythm, and you may find your chronic insomnia abandons you in a hurry.
A few days of these natural cycles, and there’s a good chance you’ll feel rooted and strong in a way you deeply needed.
Nature seems to have an automatic healing effect on people
Studies have been done which seem to show that patients in hospitals, who can see trees from their window recover faster from their ailments — and also that people who live in more rural environments appear to be happier and healthier than their urban counterparts.
Some people even claim that “earthing” yourself — walking barefoot on natural earth — can reduce chronic inflammation in the body by balancing electric charge.
Time in nature seems like it might have an automatic healing effect on people, for reasons largely unknown. In any case, it probably can’t hurt to put it to the test, right?