Taking at least twenty minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place
that makes you feel in contact with nature will significantly lower your
stress hormone levels. That's the finding of a study that has
established for the first time the most effective dose of an urban
nature experience. Healthcare practitioners can use this discovery,
published in Frontiers in Psychology, to prescribe 'nature-pills' in the
knowledge that they have a real measurable effect.
"We
know that spending time in nature reduces stress, but until now it was
unclear how much is enough, how often to do it, or even what kind of
nature experience will benefit us," says Dr. MaryCarol Hunter, an
Associate Professor at the University of Michigan and lead author of
this research. "Our study shows that for the greatest payoff, in terms
of efficiently lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol, you
should spend 20 to 30 minutes sitting or walking in a place that
provides you with a sense of nature."
- The above was excerpted from an article in Science Daily. Read the whole article here: Just 20 minutes of contact with nature will lower stress hormone levels, reveals new study.
No comments:
Post a Comment