Where do you spend your spare time?
Previously research has been focused on urbanization. Most people are aware of the negative impacts of urbanization, such as higher rates of depression, substance abuse, crime, family disintegration, and alienation. But do you know about the benefits of natural environments?
The latest research from the UK shows that people are ‘significantly and substantially happier outdoors, in natural habitats’ * .
The research proves that there is a true link between nature and well-being.
There is also a wealth of medical evidence showing that spending time in natural environments can improve general health, prevent disease, and help individuals recover from illness. More specifically, it can help to reduce coronary heart disease, obesity, as well as stress and mental health problems.
It has also been acknowledged that the natural environment affects children’s mental and physical development. This is critical given that today many children struggle with addiction to video games and social media.
If these findings are enough to convince you that it is time to get yourself outside, then why not try one of these ideas?
How to improve your levels of happiness by utilizing the natural environment –
Why not kill two birds with the one stone?
1) Get active in the natural environment. We know that exercise releases happy chemicals, so why don’t you try getting outside and exercising somewhere green?
- Try bike riding, so that you can see more of the nature around you
- Take a walk
- Push yourself to achieve greater fitness and go for a run
- Practice yoga or any simple stretching exercises
- Try one of the fabulous outdoor exercise videos on YouTube
2) Spend some time with family or friends outdoors. When we are busy we often neglect spending time with others. Make this a priority! Catch up with some friends or spend time with family members somewhere special. Find a nice natural place and take someone there with you. By doing this you are working on your own health, helping them with their health, and also putting time into feeding important relationships.
3) Use the time to work on your mindfulness practice.
If you don’t feel up to exercising, or you have no one to go with, then why not go alone and try some mindfulness practice?
Try the Conscious Observation mindfulness meditation.
What do you do?
Simply choose something around you to focus on. Anything you can see, it can be a tree, a flower, a stone, or a bird. Then look at this object closely. Allow your attention to be flooded with this object and all of its details. Simply observe the object you have chosen. Do not assess, or label or think about the object, just observe what you see.
If you are finding this difficult, try to close your eyes and listen only to the sounds in your environment. Concentrate only on what you can hear, just simply listening and noticing.
Your mind will try to wonder. Your mind might bring up past memories, or thoughts about the future. Allow these thoughts to pass, and focus your attention back onto the object of your choice, or listening to the sounds. Notice how differently it feels to be in the present moment.
Conscious observation gives you a greater feeling of being in the “here and now”. This practice helps you to exercise your mindfulness skills and can be quite powerful when used regularly.
*Mackerron, George and Mourato, Susana (2013) Happiness is greater in natural environments. Global Environmental Change, 23(5), pp. 992-1000.
