Happy Earth Day everyone!!
Did you know that spending just 10 minutes in nature a day can reduce your stress level and improve your mental AND physical health. Even going in your backyard or to a park without your computer, phones, and electronics and walking for 10 minutes will lower your blood pressure, help you absorb some vitamin D from the sun, and decrease your stress. It's that easy.
Time in nature has been studied for years. Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, noticed that her patients always did better if placed by a window looking outside. And they did even better if there were trees or plants outside their window.
A landmark study in 1984 by Uldrich and company showed that patients looking at water, plants, and greenery had lower blood pressure, recovered better from surgery, and had less pain. That is why most hospitals have pictures of nature on the walls and a "nature or garden" area that patients and their family can visit.
A study in Japan of 100 business people suffering from anxiety and high bloodpressure working in downtown Tokyo showed that after just 1 week of taking 30 minutes of their lunch break walking in a nearby woods had markedly improved stress and blood pressure!
Make today, Earth Day, your day to start your nature time! Go walk around the neighborhood, skate, rollerblade, hike, bike, jog or whatever your heart desires. Remember just 10 minutes a day of being outside looking at a tree, grass, or plants will help your mental and physical health. So start your "nature break" a day.
