Will they become two hours in the park in the next 10,000 steps?
As people spend more time indoors, a mountain of scientific research says that spending time in nature is critical to health and increases longevity. This means being outdoors, under trees and away from cars and concrete, on a regular basis. And, no, the Platoon doesn’t count.
“There is an urgent need emerging in science and at the intestinal level to increase the experience of nature. This field is only exploiting,” says Gretchen Daily, a professor of environmental science at Stanford University.
The benefits have been clear to scientists for some time, but the pandemic has made the issue more urgent. The physical and emotional weight of the virus, especially in urban areas with little green space, has galvanized doctors, researchers and others to take advantage of the therapeutic effects of nature.
Spending time in the woods (a practice that the Japanese call “bathing in the woods”) is strongly related to low blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormones and decreased anxiety, depression and fatigue.