a return to nature🌿
+ the peace of wild things
I very much grew up as a city kid. Although I always loved getting out into nature, and felt a deep connection to humanity as a whole when I did, cities are just full of more “exciting things to do” when you’re a young adult in love with the arts, meeting new people, and figuring out who you are!
However, as I’ve been prioritizing my health over the last few years, I’ve been extremely aware at how lucky I am to have grown up and be based in Vancouver, Canada: a place that has SO many nature walks/trails/hikes in or close by the city—the possibilities of places to breathe fresh air a short jaunt from the downtown core feel endless!
The more health and wellness research I do, the more I’ve been hearing that air quality is one of those things people are going to take more seriously as a determining factor of where to live in the future👀.
Plus, the psychological and physical healing benefits humans can have from spending regular time in nature is frequently mentioned in health and neuroscience studies!
For example, are you tired often? Can’t focus? Need a dopamine detox from your phone? Feel stressed about the state of the world in general? Or do you or your child have ADHD tendencies and can’t sit still?
Dr. Marc Berman, PhD who speaks on THIS podcast thinks he has the antidote to help all of that: spend more time outdoors.
Berman argues that there are not only brain benefits (good mental health, less stress, more ability to focus, better imagination, more “eureka!” moments), but also mentions a study where patients healed faster from operations if they had a window in their hospital room to look outside of every day (compared to the patients with no window).
I highly recommend the podcast to hear even more cool experiments they did and came across!
To briefly sum up his findings to an actionable tool we can use, he says that to get the “maximum overall health benefits” from nature, he recommends a daily 20 minute nature walk alone.
That means no talking to anyone, and doing nothing but walking. Yes, this means being off your phone. Yes, this means no listening to music or podcasts or checking texts etc. (I had this question and waited a while until it was answered on the podcast because I was listening to it while going on my nature walk lol).
If you’re thinking “I don’t live near a forest or beach” or “I don’t have time to go outside” or “I don’t want to go alone”. Don’t worry! Anything is better than nothing. You could:
go to a city park
just go outside and literally look up at the sky
walk with a friend (accountability buddy!)
watch a nature video online (preferably one without narration)
close your eyes and do nothing but listen to online “soundscapes” of bird sounds or waves or other things found in nature
even just study a photo or painting set in nature
Although he says the “best” thing is uninterrupted time fully immersed in the outdoors away from cars, buildings, and other human inventions, stressing out that you’re “not doing it right” is counterproductive to the whole point of doing it, so take in this information gently and don’t stress that it’s something you need to add to your ever-expanding to do list.
Personally, I’ve been trying to rewire my limiting beliefs about Vancouver, and since an endless variety of nature opportunities is one of the best things this city has going for it (my trainer calls it a “nature tax” to justify the price of living here), I’ve been trying to take advantage of all the nice spots by going on weekly-ish “nature dates” with my partner!
However!! Even though I grew up in Vancouver, even though I know the health benefits of spending time outdoors, even though so many gorgeous trails are so accessible to me, and even though I love it— I still have to make the effort to get out of my regular routine and do my special nature walk. So don’t feel bad if it feels like a chore at first. Once you’re there, you won’t regret it!
Also, notice that I’m not doing exactly what Berman recommended:
it’s weekly-ish (not every day)
it’s with my partner (not by myself)
I take photos while we’re on our nature date (I’m not totally phone-free)
Even though I’m not doing the “scientifically-recommended” routine for maximum brain and body benefits, I still find myself in a way better mood after, so appreciative of the gifts of Mother Earth, excited when I look back on my photos and remember our excursions, and curious about which spots we’ll discover next!
Also…taking a breather to literally “touch grass” as they say, has never in human history been a bad idea:
Let me know if you have any fun nature days coming up- I’d love to hear about them to get even more inspired😍🌿!
Also I’m glad you’re hating on Vancouver less these days - that’s real growth!
Having to walk Badger every day three times a day can feel like a chore but I do like the reset it does for my brain, especially when we go on proper hikes. Our walks have been very difficult since the snowstorm - a lot of stop and go because there’s so much snow covering m the walking paths, a lot of ice, etc. We can’t wait to this thing to thaw!