Let Nature Help You Unwind

Quick Win

Spend 20 minutes in your local park or green space. Taking a nature break may elevate your mood and reduce stress.

Try This Today

• Get outdoors. Head to a neighborhood park, a nearby nature center or a walking path. If you can bring a friend, even better!
• Take in the sights. Appreciate the colors, textures and diversity of the trees, plants and animals around you.
• Smell the smells. Breathe in the fresh air. Notice the scent of mulch on the ground. Take in the perfume of the flowers.

Why

Spending time outdoors is a great way to elevate your mood and may help reduce anxiety, according to a review of 50 studies in SSM-Population Health. A group of 155 people ages 19 to 59 spent two hours experiencing the sights, smells and sounds of the outdoors — known as “forest bathing.” Both those with and those without depressive tendencies showed decreases in blood pressure as well as anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue and confusion, as reported in 2019 in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine.