How being in contact with nature for just 20 minutes can improve your health

Being outdoors can cause noticeable changes in your body, such as reducing stress hormones, lowering blood pressure, and even improving gut health.

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You don’t have to walk for hours to notice these benefits, since the maximum effect is reached after only 20 minutes.

A walk to the park at lunchtime to eat a snack on a bench several times a week can be beneficial for your body and mind.

Here are four benefits of contact with nature for your health.

1. Unconscious relaxation

When you see green trees, smell pine, and hear the soft rustling of leaves or birds singing, your autonomic nervous system—the network of nerves that controls unconscious processes—reacts immediately.

This can happen even during a simple visit to the local park.

“We observed changes in the body, such as a decrease in blood pressure, variations in heart rate variability and a slower heart rate, all associated with a state of physiological relaxation,” explained Kathy Willis, professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, in the podcast. What’s Up Docs? from BBC Radio 4.

A British study of almost 20,000 participants found that those who spent at least 120 minutes a week in nature were much more likely to enjoy good health and greater psychological well-being.

The evidence on the benefits of spending time outdoors is so strong that green social prescribing programs have been launched in some regions, connecting people with nature to improve their physical and mental health, with positive effects on happiness and well-being.

2. Hormonal reset

The body’s hormonal system also participates in the relaxation process.

Willis stated that spending time outdoors activates our endocrine system and reduces levels of cortisol and adrenaline, the hormones that surge when we are stressed or anxious.

“One study revealed that people who stayed in a hotel room for three days and inhaled hinoki (Japanese cypress) oil experienced a large decrease in adrenaline and a significant increase in natural killer cells in the blood,” he said.

Natural killer cells are those that fight viruses in the body. Participants in the study still had elevated levels of natural killer cells two weeks after inhaling the aroma.

In essence, nature “calms what needs to be calmed and strengthens what needs to be strengthened,” this is how Professor Ming Kuo, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (United States), summed it up in statements to the BBC.

“A three-day weekend in nature has a huge impact on our immune system and, even a month later, levels can still be 24% higher than baseline values,” he said.

Studies also show smaller but persistent effects of spending shorter periods in nature, he added.

3. Smell, a powerful sense

Smelling nature is as powerful as seeing and hearing it.

The aroma of trees and earth is full of organic compounds released by plants and “when inhaled, some molecules pass into the bloodstream.”

Willis said pine is a good example of this, as the scent of a pine forest can calm you down in just 90 seconds and that effect lasts about 10 minutes.

You may think that the relaxing effect of nature is only psychological, but another study found that even very young babies, with no memory associated with specific smells, calmed down when limonene (a compound obtained from citrus peels), another aroma associated with calm, was applied to the room where they were.

In addition to calming the mind, nature can also help improve your gut microbiota, as soil and plants are full of beneficial bacteria.

“They are the same type of beneficial bacteria that we buy in probiotics or drinks,” Willis explained.

Professor Ming Kuo has studied the effect on factors such as susceptibility to infections and mental health, and claims that inhaling certain elements can improve mood; Additionally, antimicrobial compounds released by plants, called phytoncides, could help fight diseases.

Dr. Chris van Tulleken, an infection scientist, said that nature is a stimulating environment that “activates the immune system.”

The expert encourages his children to play with dirt in the forest, which they then inhale through their nose or mouth.

Of course, not everyone can go to the forest whenever they want, but the good news is that it is not necessary.

According to Willis, even small touches of nature at home can make a difference.

Visually, flowers such as white or yellow roses have been shown to produce the greatest calming effect on brain activity.

As for aromas, a diffuser with essential oils like pinene can help you feel calm.

And if all else fails, even a photo of a forest can help.

Research shows that looking at images of nature on the computer or simply staring at something green can trigger the same relaxing changes in your brain waves and reduce stress.

“Every little bit helps,” said Professor Ming Kuo.