Our environment has a way of impacting our mood, both positively and negatively. More times than not, we find ourselves in an unpleasant environment that does more harm than good. If you spend a majority of our time in these unpleasant environments and don’t expose yourself to nature, you don’t allow your mind, body, and soul an opportunity to breathe.
Research continues to support nature as a way of healing and finding a balance between the emotions we encounter everyday. When we constantly live in those unpleasant environments, they eventually consume our lives and cause us to lose that sense of purpose.
The Effects of an Unpleasant Environment
Unpleasant environments can be a result of many things, whether it be what you’re seeing, what you’re hearing, or physically experiencing at any given moment. These environments result in built-up anxiety and stress, affecting our ability to be ourselves around others.
We try to avoid these environments, but they seem to follow us everywhere. Everything’s moving a-mile-a-minute, chaos everywhere we turn, people getting angry in that corner, people over here rushing through life. It’s like an airport, just constantly going with no break.
Eventually, our body and mind respond to it. Our heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, muscles tense up, immune system weakens — we begin to crack.
What if I were to tell you there’s a way to find that balance and give yourself that break you so desperately need.
Expose Yourself To Nature: Ease the Mind and Body
I want you to think about your dream vacation for a second. That vacation you’ve always wanted to take — the two-week long, drama-free, worry-free vacation. What are you envisioning?
Are you at your work desk? Are you at your home? Are you in the depths of Time Square? Probably not…
You’re probably nestled away on some island or beach surrounded by nothing, but palm trees, sand, bright blue waters, and nature.
Nature heals us. When you expose yourself to nature: it reverses our high blood pressure, increased heart rate, stress levels, and muscle tension. It gives us that moment to breath and find peace in the chaos we encounter. It improves our mood, our well-being, and vitality.
Less Screen Time, More Nature Time
We find nature interesting. There’s so much out there to see, hear, smell, even touch. Nature seems limitless and allows us to train our minds to act the same way. Research even shows that we don’t need to necessarily be out in nature to feel the effects.
Simply looking at a photograph or having a garden at your house can prove beneficial to your well-being. That means you can spend less time on your cell phones, televisions, computers, and other electronic devices and spend more time connecting with nature.
Depriving yourself of nature is depriving yourself of true happiness and mental clarity. It not only brings us closer to ourselves, but can help us open up to those around us. More nature in our surroundings can have a lasting effect on everybody involved.
If you don’t believe me, give it a try. Start spending 30 minutes out in nature everyday and you’ll start to feel the difference immediately.