Taking Just 20 Minutes to Be Outside in Nature Can Tamp Down Your Stress Hormones, Research Says
Being outside was linked to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Riding, walking, or just sitting around in the outdoors can benefit you in both physical and mental ways.
Getting outside during the winter months can be tough. It’s cold, dark, and snowy, and sometimes it’s just easier to get out the trainer while catching up on TV. But now that the weather is getting warmer, we’re getting outside more, and there are tons of perks that come along with it, like being out in fresh air and exploring new places.
Now, though, there’s a new reason you might want to head outside more: According to a recent study, taking as little as 20 minutes to be one with nature can seriously help you feel less stressed out.
Published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers asked 44 participants to spend time in nature for at least 10 minutes per day, three times per week without using their phones, social media, or the Internet. They were also told to avoid talking, reading, and exercising, too. (Exercise causes your body to release endorphins, which, for the purpose of this study, would “compromise a clean measure of stress level,” lead study author MaryCarol Hunter, Ph.D., told Bicycling.)
Participants also took swabs of their saliva right before and right after a “nature experience” four days a week and sent samples to the researchers at the end of the first, third, and seventh week.
Their findings? By testing the participants’ saliva, Hunter and her colleagues found that their levels of the stress hormone cortisol were reduced by an average of 21 percent per hour while they spent 20 to 30 minutes outside. After that, cortisol was reduced by 12 percent per hour. This is because the parasympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system—which regulates you body’s stress responses—kicks in to slow your heart rate and make you feel relaxed, according to previous research done on the subject.
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And while Hunter and her colleagues didn’t specifically test if cortisol levels decrease if you’re exercising outdoors, previous research suggests that they do. A 2016 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that riding outside can boost your mood and lower your stress levels.
Still, Hunter’s study is a reminder that just getting outside for a short while—even if you’re just sitting—can do wonders when it comes to de-stressing.
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