“It’s funny how we like books that tell us the bl**@ing obvious isn’t it?”
I was at a function celebrating a friend’s birthday, when I was approached by a woman who came up to congratulate me on my new book, ‘The Natural Advantage’.
“Er, yes, I guess sometimes we’re looking for those reminders of what’s important and why” I replied.
She continued to share her thoughts, “I mean, we all KNOW that getting outside into nature is good for us. It’s kinda sad we have to buy a book to be told this.”
I knew she hadn’t read the book.
If she ever does, she’ll discover why time in nature is essential not just as a feel-good factor, but as an essential component to our physical, mental, emotional, social and cognitive health and wellbeing.
As a lifestyle medicine physician, my mission is to help others discover what they can do to stay fit and healthy and avoid developing chronic disease (of which there are many) without having to resort to expensive supplements or gym memberships. Time in nature is one factor that helps us to achieve that.
In many instances, our busy lives have reduced the opportunities for us to get outside as much as we would like. Rather than just wishing things could be different, ‘The Natural Advantage’ provides many practical tips and tools for you to create your own Nature Prescription, so you can easily reconnect with nature more often at home or at work.
The first part of the book examines what we need to attend to. How time outside in green space is essential to children’s eye-sight development and provides us welcome relief from screen fatigue. Why tuning in to natural sound is soothing and reduces stress and the risk of poor mental health. Why getting out into the great outdoors is good for our cardiovascular health, protecting us from developing heart disease, strengthening our immune system and for combatting loneliness.
The second part of the book looks at what nature provides us as medicine; air, sunshine, water, earth and animals.
The University of Exeter has shown we need to spend a minimum of 120 minutes a week outside to maintain our mental health.
You can do the math.
That’s 17 minutes and a few seconds a day.
Which is why I recommend you do something every day that gets you outside for a minimum of 15 minutes.
How would you spend that time?
You could,
• Make yourself an early cuppa and step outside into the early morning light and notice what’s around you.
• Spend that time walking some of your commute to work if it takes you through a park.
• You could choose to take your lunch outside to a favourite green or blue spot.
• You could buy yourself a new plant to keep indoors at home or in the office.
• You could wind down at the end of the day taking time to step outside and look at the night sky. What stars can you see?
Sometimes it’s the smallest of tweaks to our daily schedule that can have the greatest impact. As with anything we do to stay happy and healthy, it’s about the consistency of our habits. The book doesn’t seek to solve the world’s ills, but my hope is it will provide balm and a buffer to some of the multitude of stresses, worries and concerns we deal with daily.
I’d love to hear how you utilise time in nature for your own health and wellbeing.
Do you have a favourite daily or weekly ritual that gets you out and about into a green or blue space?
Have you found comfort in nature when dealing with loss or grief?
Do you include time outside to keep yourself mentally and physically healthy?
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