Feeling a little down? 7 Ways Nature can Improve your Mood
We truly believe that getting back to nature and spending time outdoors is food for the soul. This is where our motto “GO TO GROW” comes from. We consider it part of our job to bring you a little closer to nature.
It is so easy to become wrapped up in the negative news that we find ourselves surrounded with today. The media constantly promotes the most glum stories from around the world, forcing us to latch on to doom and gloom in our everyday lives.
By removing ourselves from the chaotic push notifications and online opinion race we can give ourselves a chance to breathe in some fresh air and reflect on the positive things that make us a little happier.
Here are 7 ways nature can help to improve your mood:
1. Restore Balance
Positive engagement with natural landscapes will make you sit back and see that imperfections can be wonderful when we embrace them. “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful” Alice Walker has said it all with this quotation.
2. Reduce Feelings of Anxiety
We all get stressed sometimes. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead re-align your attention. Focusing on wild plants, the movements of small creatures and listening to fresh water running through a forest allows your mind to cool down and touch base with reality.
3. Absorb Natural Light
It is well documented that exposure to natural light is beneficial for your overall health. Sunlight releases Serotonin, a hormone that is associated with positive energy and clear thinking. The lack of sun is why some suffer with the winter blues.
4. An Easy Path to Exercise
If you are like me and tend to avoid the gym then getting out into the woods is a real way to get some exercise. Whether you want a leisurely stroll in the woods or to increase your steps per day, being outdoors is the way to go. Better yet you can try an activity like fruit picking, hiking or foraging to get your heart pumping a little more.
5. Connect with the Natural World
These days it is easy to lose sight of the changes happening in the wilderness but when you go for a hike, cycle or spend anytime in the natural landscapes you can see the seasons change and admire the trees as they work their magic.
6. Improve problem solving
If you are suffering with a creative block than you may need to head for the hills. Spending time in the same position, same chair, same office, same environment isn’t going to help solve the problem arising in that very position. Remove yourself from a situation to look at it with another perspective. A walk in the woods can help to clear your mind and may lead to more creative thinking about a current problem that you are facing.
7. Focus on one thing at a time
This is connected with mindful living and has become popular now that we are aware of our constant battle with the past and future. Why did that happen to me? What is in store for me in the future? Do these questions look familiar to you. We all ask them but what if we turned off for a short time and focused only on the present. We find that it is much easier to allow yourself to turn off when you are walking in a natural environment.
Don’t take our word for it, a researcher from a University in Canada has clinically proven the connection between our natural surroundings and personal well being.
Join us for a food or foraging adventure outdoors to learn more about our deep rooted connection with the land and get a taste of the wild goodness around you.
