Benefits of Walking in Nature

I’ve always appreciated living near a large area of farmland accessible to the public. For years, my family have taken daily walks, enjoying the fresh air, fabulous views and exercise. Back in the eighties, Rocky (a cute Staffy) would bark at the sheep. In the nineties, Barney (a lolloping Lab) would take every opportunity to wind up the cows. On the first day of the new millennium, a sledging accident down the biggest hill left my daughter in hospital with numerous broken bones in her foot. Nowadays the only crops the fields have are animal feed, and our Welsh collie (Sasha) has only rabbits and squirrels to round up, but she loves the chase.
Throughout these decades we’ve watched the place change, especially when they built a road through the middle of it. One thing was constant – we rarely met more than a dozen people for any hour we walked. During lockdown, I could barely walk for five minutes without meeting dozens of new faces, many of whom had walked a considerable distance to reach this place they’d heard of.

And because people love pix of dogs, here they are.

Rocky                                                                     Barney                                                      Sasha

The internet is full of articles extolling the benefits of walking in nature from obvious ones like calming the mind and improving athletic performance to increasing immunity and even reducing cancer. Recent research shows a nature walk changes blood flow in the brain to a state of relaxation and increases the number of natural killer cells the body produces to battle infection. Other research suggests that while many people enjoy a walk in the park, pleasure isn't required to get cognitive benefits. Even in the pouring rain or on a grey, wintry day, people have been shown to benefit from a nature walk.

Some of the ways walking nourishes mind body and spirit are:

• helping to focus and relax your mind
• letting go of your problems, real or imagined, even for a little while
• improving aerobic capacity for more efficient oxygen intake
• burning fat and sugar more efficiently while you’re walking
• mastering your mind (and body), being able to accomplish any goal you set for yourself

Read more about it here: https://www.wildwomenontop.com/blog/mind-blowing-benefits-walking-nature

Bringing nature in 

Olive tree leaves

One of my Friday treats (along with lunching with my dad and sharing a pizza and bottle of red with hubby at dinner) is to fill several vases with seasonal greenery. No matter what time of year, I can always find some interesting colours and shapes in the foliage in the garden, even if there are no actual flowers.

Rowan tree leaves

In addition to cleaning the air by reducing the amount of airborne pollutants, plants can reduce stress and anxiety. The natural aromas not only make our environment pleasant, they are also full of chemicals that enhance our thinking, mood, immune system, and more. Lavender is well known for its calming effects, but studies show peppermint oil enhances attention and lessens mental and physical fatigue.

The simple act of opening the curtains (whether or not you have a verdant view) can help as letting in natural light increases job satisfaction, enhances performance, reduces depression, and enhances recovery from illness. Views of natural elements, such as trees, also have a positive effect on mood, attention, and recovery. So, if you can’t get outdoors, at least look out, particularly if you're feeling stressed or in pain.

If you don’t have a view of nature from your window at home or work, you can still benefit from a landscape painting or photo – visualise all the wonderful scenes used as computer backdrops.

Pictures of nature can produce cognitive benefits, which suggests part of the effect is mediated by what we see. Colour could play a part; nature scenes feature more green than urban scenes, or a pleasing combination of tones and shades. As you can see from the montage to the left, I'm particularly drawn to pictures featuring water in its many forms - seas, lakes, rivers and especially waterfalls account for at least 60% of the outdoor scenes I 'm drawn to capture in photos to look back on.

Natural landscapes have more fractal patterns – complex, repetitive shapes found in coastlines, mountain ranges and many leaves and flowers – compared to the simple straight lines of man-made structures. Correlations have been found between these patterns and levels of cognitive function and/or tranquillity.

Find out more  at https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/nature-us