Earth Day is Saturday, April 22, and you may want to consider how your relationship with the world affects your wellbeing and wellness. It's becoming more and more evident that spending time outdoors is not only beneficial to your body. It can improve your mental health and your ability to handle stress.

Spending time outside can improve mood, self-perception, and productivity. Research shows that getting outside boosts energy and vitality and increases your sense of connectedness to others and the world.

We look at some of the benefits that you can get from spending time outdoors.

What makes a good health coach? You can read our blog on this topic to see if you're a good fit!

Forest Bathing

The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries first introduced Shinrin-yoku, also known as Forest Bathing, in 1982. It is a mindfulness technique that involves immersing oneself in a forest. health has since shown that Forest Bathing offers a number of benefits.

Forest Bathing is shown to have a positive impact on cardiovascular, metabolic and immune functions. It also reduces inflammation, improves mood and relieves anxiety and depression symptoms (Wen and colleagues, 2019). One meta-analysis found that people who "forest soak" had lower cortisol levels after spending time in the forest. This suggests that forest bathing could be an effective way to deal with acute stress.

Forest bathing has long-term benefits. In a study of adults with pre-hypertension or hypertension, forest bathing improved heart rate variability and resting heart rates, as well as perceived quality of living (Yau & Loke 2020).

You don't need to live in a log cabin. Shinrin-yoku can be used by people who live in big cities. Spending time in the park or on a short break can have a profound effect. Even short periods of gazing at the sky, or up at a grouping of trees, can lower blood pressure and slow breathing.

Plogging

Plogging is another international activity that will get you outdoors and improve your health. It is a combination between the Swedish words "jogging", "to pick up" and "to run". Ploggers run in groups through littered areas, with trash bags in their hands, picking up garbage as they go.

Research on motivation shows that one way to motivate yourself is to link your activities with a sense purpose and meaning (Ingledew, et. al., 2018). Plogging is a fun way to make your outdoor activities more beneficial to your community and environment. Plogging can be beneficial from a movement perspective. It involves squatting and lunging as well as bending, carrying, and bending.

What does a restful sleep look like?

Resting is more than taking a break from exercising. Rest can include improving the quality and quantity of Sleep, reducing stress and increasing physical and mental relaxation.

Sleep: According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults should sleep between 7-9 hours per night. This is the ideal amount of time to sleep, as it must be uninterrupted and deep enough to go through all phases of sleep. To get the most out of your sleep, limit screen time to 1-2 hours prior to bedtime. Also, develop a regular schedule for sleeping and waking.

Stress management: Stress may be physical (e.g., an intense workout) or psychological (e.g., stressful work situations). It is up to you to determine how much stress you can handle. Recognizing the stresses you encounter in everyday life will help you decide what type of recovery you need (mental, emotional or physical).

Physical relaxation is essential for building muscle. Recovery tools, such as percussion instruments or compression boots, can help you relax your muscles and recover from a hard workout.

GROW SOMETHING

You can still connect with nature even if you don't enjoy running or live in a far-off forest. Growing something, whether it's vegetables or flowers in a large yard or window box has been proven to improve wellness and wellbeing.

Gardening not only makes people feel closer to nature but also gives them a feeling of accomplishment and an appreciation for the aesthetics and beauty of the garden (Scott Masser & Pachana 2015). Even casual community gardeners view their small gardens to be a place of refuge. They relieve stress and increase health-promoting behavior outside the fence (Genter et. al.,2015). It has been proven that gardening can reduce depression and anxiety symptoms, thereby boosting mental well-being (Clatworthy Hinds & Camic 2013).

You don't have outdoor space? You can also reap the benefits of indoor gardening. Nurturing indoor plants or creating a window-garden can improve your life satisfaction and creativity, as well as reduce symptoms of PTSD.

Check out our course on Certified Wellness Coach to see what it takes for you to be a leader in health and wellness coaching.

CONCLUSION

Earth Day is not just about the impact we have on our planet. Earth Day can be a time to reflect on the many wonderful things that our planet has to offer. It would be even better to go outside and see them yourself.

By connecting with nature, we can foster a sense that we are part of something bigger, which, according to research, benefits our mood, outlook, sense of purpose, and overall wellbeing.