3 reasons why trips into nature can change your life
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There are a virtually limitless number of things you could do on a day out, ranging from road trips to exotic locations, to formal engagements at the fanciest restaurants in town. One of the best ways you can spend a day out, however, is by getting out into nature and roaming the great outdoors, with the worries of your life left behind in civilisation.
Here are three reasons why it’s so good to get out into nature:
1. It can improve your mood dramatically
The more time you spend in and near nature, the happier you’re likely to be. There’s been a lot of research done on the subject, and studies have found that people who lived in more rural areas routinely suffered from lower rates of depression than their city-bound counterparts.
Not only that, but it’s been reported that patients recovering from surgery in hospital rooms enjoy faster recovery times when they have a view of trees from the window of their ward.
There’s something about nature — even being near it, even being able to see it — that resonates with something deep inside of everyone, and which has the power to lift your mood.
Of course, the fresh air and exercise is likely to work wonders as well.
2. It’s the perfect way to find inspiration
Many great painters, poets, authors and even philosophers throughout history have sworn by long walks in nature as the key to inspiration.
Usually, the idea of brainstorming to solve a problem is associated with images of people sitting around at desks, looking very serious. Yet for many people, they might have better luck coming up with ideas while out on long walks through the forest.
Various things happen when walking in nature. Firstly, the distractions of your normal life are removed, giving you a bit more mental space to reflect on things. Secondly, the fresh air and exercise you’re getting stimulates endorphins and certain hormones in the body associated with alertness.
Thirdly, enjoying the sights and sounds of the natural landscape allows your mind to process other ideas casually and half-unconsciously. This may sound counterintuitive, but one of the best ways of coming up with solutions to an issue, or new ideas for a project, is to let your creative mind work without force or pressure.
A trip into nature might be just what you need to do some quality thinking.
3. It gives you some distance from your normal life
Many people are chronically stressed in the 21st Century. One of the main reasons for this is that there’s constant information overload going on, day and night. There are always emails to respond to, friends to get in touch with, social media updates to post, bills to worry about, ads to consider, chores to do, projects to catch up with, catalogues to browse through, and so on, and so on.
Simply finding a moment to get some peace and quiet can become a serious chore.
Out in nature, on the other hand, all those distractions are far away. When you’re on top of a mountain you get to completely let go of all the obligations of your daily existence, at least for a while.
That can be an incredibly rejuvenating experience.
Nature is my therapy. Is it yours?