Nature Rx: How Nature Improves Mood, Boosts Optimism and Fosters Unity
Consider this your prescription to spend a minimum of 15 minutes per day, or as often as you can, outside in a nature preserve or park. According to The Joy of Movement, side-effects may include vitality, optimism, endurance, unity, connection, improved mood, decreased anxiety, a sense of freedom, peace, love, hope, and harmony.
That’s a pretty appealing list of possible side-effects, isn’t it?
Please note, if you struggle with anxiety, depression and/or are facing overwhelming life problems, it is recommended you seek the professional counsel of a doctor and therapist. A prescription to spend time in nature is not intended to replace the support of skilled professionals, but instead, complement their interventions.
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We have read a lot of literature over the years about the benefits of nature for our physical and mental/emotional health. Earlier this year, we enjoyed reading The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal, PhD, especially because she dedicated an entire chapter, aptly titled “Embrace Life,” to highlight the benefits of movement in nature and presented some new and noteworthy points from the perspective of neuroscience, anthropology, and psychology. Below, we summarize her findings.
First, let’s take a look at what she tells us about anxiety and depression. Our brain has something called the “default mode network” —essentially, our brains are always chattering about something, whether it be a mental to-do list, replaying a conversation, or daydreaming. When you have anxiety and/or depression, this default mode network has a more negative bias and leaning toward rumination and worry, and even creates a link between worry and the brain’s reward system, further convincing ourselves that our worry is helping us. When your brain has this bias, it is actually more difficult to interrupt it with positive thoughts, focus on a task, or even engage in pleasant distractions and focus on something outside oneself. Unfortunately, this may create a bit of a catch-22, where traditional coping skills may not be enough to redirect the mind, and paired with the perceived “reward” of worry, it leads to further rumination and self-focus making it increasingly difficult to break the cycle.
The most helpful tool to interrupt the default mode network is time-intensive mindfulness practice, including deep breathing and meditation. Time intensive because it is often very difficult at first, requires consistent practice, and the benefits may only be seen over time.
Research shows, however, that spending time in nature essentially produces the same effect as mindfulness without all the work. McGonigal states: “The mind-altering effects of green exercise kick in almost immediately… as if being in nature flips a switch in the brain to transport you into a different state of mind.” In part, our senses are heightened in nature because we are hard-wired for survival and a heightened sense of awareness helps us be alert to potential dangers, which are often very real in natural settings. But it also works to calm us; this heightened sensory experience helps the brain shift into a state of “soft fascination” which is described a state of “heightened present-moment awareness.” She goes on to explain “brain systems linked to language and memory become less active while regions that process sensory information become more engaged. The senses are heightened and inner chatter quiets.” When the chatter quiets, we are ushered into “curiosity about and appreciation for the world around [us].”
To demonstrate this point, McGonigal shares the story of one woman battling depression in New York City: “inside her apartment, she had felt completely immersed in her negative thoughts. It was as if her worries and self-judgments filled the space around her and became the very air she was breathing. ‘Outside… I was around more positive thoughts. Like, ah, the big sky, the big trees, the air—this is good. I’m ok. I’m still alive. I’m free.’”
The human experience is such that in nature, rumination turns to fascination, worry to wonder. And repeated exposure leads to a greater sense of fulfillment as we shift our focus outside of ourselves. It is so significant that McGonigal reports on research showing that hiking in nature is shown to have similar short-term effects of cutting edge treatments for depression: TMS and Ketamine. Another study of middle-aged adults in South Korea showed 61% of participants experienced remission from depression when pairing forest walking and CBT therapy after one month, which is 3x higher than those receiving counseling in a hospital. She further claims that humans need contact with the earth for our psychological well-being and explains that bacteria in dirt has anti-inflammatory properties for our brain, making it a natural-antidepressant. No wonder NASA “recommends gardening as a way to protect crew members’ psychological health on long missions.”
Part of what makes nature particularly effective is it works in two ways: it helps reduce anxiety and depression while increasing positive emotions. McGonigal notes “the emotions we are most likely to feel in nature [are] wonder, awe, curiosity, hope…”
It is important to note there is a flip side to this as well… the average American spends 93% of their time indoors and it has deleterious effects, dubbed “nature deficit disorder” by Richard Louv. A consequence of life spent primarily indoors is rumination and self-focus. Social media compounds this effect in regards to our interpersonal relationships, where we wrestle with comparison, self-doubt, and loneliness, replaying scenarios in our mind and engaging in negative self-talk. Outdoors, however, we have “open-awareness” and “we re-familiarize ourselves with this other aspect of what it means to be human… Outdoors, it is possible to rediscover a self that is not solely defined by your roles and relationships with others, or by your past. You are free to be a self that is in motion, attuned to the present moment, and open to what the world has to offer.” In many ways, nature opens us to new input which allows us to zoom out and see things from a different perspective.
As a result of this openness, we begin to experience improved problem solving. Specifically, McGonigal notes that “within the first five minutes of any physical activity in nature, people report major shifts in mood and outlook. Importantly, they don’t just feel better—they feel different, somehow both distanced from the problems of everyday life and more connected to life itself.” Often, this is what someone is seeking through alcohol and drug use—a quick fix for negative emotions and distance from problems. It was fascinating to read that different forms of exercise mimic the effects of different drugs; for example she says the “runner’s high mimics a mild cannabis buzz. Synchronized dancing produces a glow not unlike ecstasy.” Movement in nature most closely resembles the effects of psychedelics: psilocybin, ayahuasca, and LSD, which includes a sense of time and consciousness expanding. Further, many people report it being like a spiritual experience, leading to a felt connection to something greater, to one’s self and others; this connectedness produces a sense of unity and “complete sense of belonging” which is “accompanied by a wave of love and a sense of deep harmony.” It’s not just a fleeting rush of positive emotions, though. Connection to something bigger than oneself provides us with a significant tool for coping through difficult times. These “elevated states of mind confer a survival advantage…. We are more likely to overcome physical pain, fear, or despair.” One study showed a mere 15 minutes spent walking in a nature park led to participants feeling more able to take on life’s challenges.
Woven throughout this phenomenon is increased optimism, hope and vitality. McGonigal refer's to E.O. Wilson’s term “biophilia” and says “is not just a love of nature or the tendency to be charmed by a birdsong. It is also the will to live, the impulse to grow, and the determination to thrive in whatever circumstances you find yourself in.” And with that, we return to the title of McGonigal’s chapter: "Embrace Life” — nature has the power to reconnect us with things that are central to life: meaning, belonging, hope, and joy. It renews our perspective while it supports the reduction of anxiety and depressive symptoms and fosters positive emotions.
This is precisely why Wildernew utilizes the outdoors in therapy!
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All quotes taken from The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal, PhD
McGonigal, K. (2019). Embrace Life. The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage. (pp. 153-178). Avery, an Imprint of Penguin Random House.