Being in nature has positive impact on personal Well-Being How you can do it too!

Being an introverted and quiet person myself growing up, being physically in nature elevates my experience of being alive and content. City noises are perceived by my brain as loud noises; events and news are attention catching medias. I want my attention to myself to be able to fully relax and take my mind off things.

Personal well-being are often very effort consuming, to at least a certain amount of people. It is all about eating healthy, self discipline to stick to a schedule that works the best for you, consume knowledge that benefits you every step of the way, and everything else you name it.

Just last week, I brought myself to hike in Eldorado Canton State Park near Boulder, Colorado. This is when I realized, being in nature is also a way to improve personal well-being.

Relationship of our mind and nature

An article by the American Psychology Association states that spending time in nature can bring cognitive benefits and improvements in mood, mental health and emotional well-being. Cited in the article by various PhD researchers had noted the following points:

• People who feel more connected to nature have a type of contentment that goes beyond just feeling good and includes having meaningful purpose in life (Journal of Happiness Studies, online first publication, 2019).
• Adults at public housing units in neighborhoods with more greenery showed better attentional functioning than those at units with less access to natural environment - (Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 28, No. 5, 2019).
• Students who looked out at a flowering green roof for 40 seconds midway through the task made significantly fewer mistakes than students who paused for 40 seconds to gaze at a concrete rooftop (Lee, K.E., et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2015)
• Contact with nature is associated with increases in happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress (Science Advances, Vol. 5, No. 7, 2019).
• The risk of developing mental illness was 55% higher for those with lowest levels of green space exposure during childhood than those who grew up with abundant green space (Engemann, K., et al., PNAS, Vol. 116, No. 11, 2019).

and more... just to list out a few.

How exploring nature has positive impact on my personal Well-Being?

1. Mind focus shift to be in present

When I throw myself in the nature, I am instantly disconnected from digital blue light from my eyes. I am nowhere but only there at the nature spot, and I can only get to my "mobile entertainment" and "unseparated work" whenever I get home.

2. Physically - for your body

This point is just really, EXERCISE. Hiking, walking long trails, bouldering. These are just physically challenging activities and is a good way to move your body besides doing it in a grey gym. What's better than using all your senses during an exercise in the nature? Seeing green and blue spaces, smelling the woods and leaves, hearing river streams, birds and bugs, touching the rocks and soft flower petals, just to name a few things that made me really happy. :)

3. Realizing you are doing great yourself

“There are people who don’t necessarily want to spend their time with others, but they feel connected to the natural environment, and that can enhance their well-being,” White says.

This reflected me as  person and clearly explains my addiction to explore nature by myself. It gives me the peace I could not explain, but knowing I will be alright and I can be self-sufficient!

Reasearch found people with low social connectedness who had high levels of nearby nature has reported high levels of well­being (Cartwright, B.D.S., et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 15, No. 6, 2018).

How do I get it started for myself to be in nature?

Research also mentioned 11% of the respondents have trouble to access nature spaces, while an astounding 44% of people said that they were not connecting (that is, feeling a close relationship and emotional engagement) with nature often enough to help their mental health.

Here is how I do it, and you can start doing it too!

1. Pick a day out of your weekend

You may argue a day out of a weekend is A LOT. I do not disagree! I agree as well, and it is advisable to start with picking a day out of bi-week. 1 out of 14 days definitley sounds way less overwhelming than 1 out of 7 days.

To make it even less overwhelming, look at your next month's calendar.

Look at your calendar now and pick a date on your weekends - from next month!

2. Start small, starting from your local parks and playground

Connecting with nature does not mean you have to go to the National Parks or Reserved nature land in the mountains when you're just starting out. It is as simple as seeing greenery from the local parks and playground - walking distance from your house or even 5 minute drive in car.

According to White, if you have a break from work and you’ve only got half an hour, then a wild remote place is no use to you at all. Urban parks and trees also produce positive outcomes. Just like a little exercise is better than none, we should take­ advantage of green and blue spaces wherever and whenever we can, especially for people at a socioeconomic disadvantage.

Pull out Google maps and just roughly pan through where you stay. Explore places within 1 mile radius from your house, then increase it to 2 miles, 3 miles... and so on. This is just to get your momentum going before opting for a more challenging and far journey!

3. Go big - Look for reserved lands and national parks around you

If you're already bored of parks, plan for the closest waterfall, scenic peak, lakes, beaches where you can drive to within 1-2 hours. Mind you, going to true nature would require more effort on your side as well.

Few tips and must-dos for going BIG:

• Check if park reservation is required (timeslot, vehicle entry fee, park rules and regulation)
• Time and duration of your adventures (how many hours would you be out in the nature, plan about food and meals if you're out for long hours)

While this would require more effort, the rewards will be more rewarding as well.  These are the biggest reward you could give yourself over the weekend to relax your mind.

4. Plan and prep the night before

Nothing makes a trip more enjoyable than just packing your bags and go! Of course it is not going to miraculously happen the day itself, that is why plan and preparation the night before is extremely essential. The last thing you wish for for a weekend getaway is to feel frustrated of the morning rush and going through mental checklist. Do it the night before!

Few preparation you could do the night before are such as:

• Meal prepping, if require to make breakfast and lunch  
• Packing your kids/furbabies necessities in a bag
• Packing your OWN necessities in a bag too.
• Lay out the clothes, socks, shoes that you and your family are going to wear
• Charge your phone and powerbank (really)
• Put heavy and bigger items in the car

Next morning, it will be as easy as GRAB N GO !

You'll find these preparation the night before transformative to your outdoor weekends. It will also refrain you from dreading outdoor nature exploration, now that everything is better managed on the ACTUAL DAY itself.

5. Sleep early and set an alarm

If you're already sleeping early, kudos to you. Just skip this section.

BUT if you're like me, who are really just alive people at night, you might have to force yourself to do this. If your clock is showing past 10pm, don't think "it's still early, let me do something...", instead, go set an alarm and do nightly routine already. Hop on to bed soonest you can.

You will be thankful of the amount of sleep you get for the next morning ahead.

Bonus: Plan with your favorite people

BONUS TIP!

The purpose of exploring nature is to reap the positive impact to personal wellbeing. This experience can be further elevated by doing it together with your favorite people. I do not mean your regular acquaintances or group of friends and extended family, but more so with 1-3 of your favorite people who loves and respects you. People who supports your journey to have peace of mind and self growth. What feels better than sharing the elevated experience with people you care about and cares about you the same.

If you are ALONE, you will be your own favorite people and that is okay! Take this time to reconnect with yourself and process your thoughts. Discover and understand yourself better physically and mentally. This is the journey I'm constantly embarked on :)