We’ve often shared what we’ve read about the health benefits of getting those steps in. Walking works. And if you can walk outdoors, it’s even better. Prevention Magazine sums it up.
“Being outdoors is a natural antidote to stress,” says Richard Taylor, Ph.D., the head of the physics department at the University of Oregon, who studies how nature’s patterns affect mental health. His research shows that stress levels plummet by 60% when we view patterns like those found in nature. “Humans evolved for thousands of years outdoors, and our physiology is designed around it,” he says. “But then we built these boxes to live in, and there has been a growing move to be inside more. Our stress levels keep growing because of that too.”
Indeed, study after study over the past two decades has confirmed that green spaces, water, and sunlight confer health benefits that range from improved healing rates after surgery and strengthened immunity to decreased chronic pain. But the impact on mental health might be most dramatic of all.”
– Jet Cannon