During the 2024 Galveston Women’s Conference, Dr. Kimberly Gushanas, a licensed clinical psychologist with the University of Texas Medical Branch, shared insights on the ways nature can impact one’s wellbeing.
While she acknowledged the already well-known benefits such as improved sleep, attention, cardiovascular and eye health, among other physiological benefits experienced from time outside, she took time to explore the ways emotional, existential and spiritual health are impacted.
“We know that in general, the more you get out in nature, the more you experience better moods and less stress,” she said. “You are even at lower risk for psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, substance misuse, and even Schizophrenia. Research has even shown that the more time you spend with nature, the more cooperative, generous, and empathetic you are.”
But to feel these effects, what does one have to do in nature, exactly?
Well, experiments have found that the following activities can prove beneficial:
- Being in green spaces such as meadows, forests or grasslands or by blue spaces such as bodies of water
- Experiencing the vastness of open horizons and skies
- Finding variety and biodiversity in the outdoors
- Getting ten minutes of sunlight in your eyes each morning and afternoon/evening
- Spending at least two hours a week in nature
Touching the soil around you with your bare hands and feet
“Simply looking at the color green can help,” said Gushanas, who reiterated that looking at actual green plants will reap the most benefits than witnessing the color green on something else.
She also went on to add that while there are minimums set for the time of certain exposures in the outdoors, there’s no maximum and actually the longer or more frequent you’re outside the better the benefits will be.
“Anecdotally, the practice of grounding, which is the act of touching the earth with your feet or bottom, appear helpful as well, but the science has yet to validate those experiences,” said Gushanas.
Acknowledging that it’s hard to prescribe any sort of specific dosage for spending time in the natural world, Gushanas urged audience members to not overthink the act, but instead encouraged them to simply slow down and keep it simple. Start with what’s already in front of them on a regular basis and just linger a bit longer.
“Explore the world around you, allow your brain the space and time to connect with nature,” she said. “In the process, you’ll likely reconnect with yourself.”