Walking in the woods will positively impact both your mental and physical health.
Can’t get out of the city? No worries, even walking in urban greenspace has positive effects. Here are three reasons to get outside for a walk:
1) Improves Immune System Function
Spending time in the woods makes it less likely for you to get sick. One study found that time in the forest increases white blood cell activity, increases anti-cancer proteins, and reduces stress.[1]
2) Improves Sleep
Trouble sleeping? Another study found time in the woods can increase your sleep time and improve your sleep quality.[2]
3) Urban Green Space Reduces Stress
And you don’t have to get out of the city to reap the benefits. Even walking in an urban park has benefits on your stress levels.
In this study, participants walked in on a shopping street, through a commercial district and on a path through an urban greenspace. They all wore a mobile electroencephalography device that that recorded their emotional experience.
The study found that while walking through the green space, participants had lower frustration and higher meditation.[3]
Need more hours so you can get outside more?
That’s one of the reasons I created Decrease Stress and Get an Hour of Your Day Back, a free checklist, so that you can make more time to get into nature and do the things that you love!
Ready for more time?
Give me more time!!
DO YOU:
- feel like at the end of the day you have nothing left to give
- feel more sensitive than usual to the little things that come up
- feel like you’ve taken on too much and aren’t certain if it’s all really aligned with your purpose
This checklist will show you the steps to feel lighter, a sense of accomplishment and get an hour of your day back.
Want less stress and more time?
Yes, I want less stress!
You deserve more time and more energy!
Talk soon,
Bryn
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Bryn Bamber
Career & Burnout Coach
The Courage Compass
bryn@couragecompass.org
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[1] Li Q, Kobayashi M, Wakayama Y,Inagaki H, Katsumata M, Hirata Y, Hirata K, Shimizu T, Kawada T, Park BJ, Ohira T, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y. (2009). Effect of phytoncide from trees on human natural killer cell function. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology. 22(4):951-959.http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/20074458/reload=0;jsessionid=BnlPLmTxArJ6VpF0s4MU.6.
[2] Emi Morita, Makoto Imai, Masako Okawa, Tomiyasu Miyaura, and Soichiro Miyazaki (2011). A before and after comparison of the effects of forest walking on the sleep of a community-based sample of people with sleep complaints. Biopsychosocial Medicine. 5:13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3216244/.
[3] Aspinall, P., Mavros, P., Coyne, R., Roe, J. (2012). The urban brain: analyzing outdoor physical activity with mobile EEG. British Journal of Sports Medicine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23467965.
