Talk a walk and call me in the morning.
For years, healthcare providers have told stressed-out patients to spend time in nature. Now hundreds of doctors are going further: They’re issuing formal prescriptions to get outside.
According to research, spending time out of doors in nature can lower blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, and boost immunity.
“Study after study says we’re wired to be out in nature,” says Dr. Brent Bauer. He’s director of the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. “That’s more than just ‘Woo-woo, I think nature is cool.’ There’s actually science.”
It’s actually more than science too. God “wired” every animal, plant, and person with a purpose: to glorify Him. So when humans enjoy creation, they can experience and glorify the One who made them and knows them completely. It makes sense that being in God’s world is good for body and soul!
Starting about a decade ago, healthcare providers began writing actual nature prescriptions for getting outside. Of course, no one needs an official prescription to step out, feel the sunlight, breathe fresh air. But some docs think prescriptions help people take the advice seriously.
“When I bring it up, it is almost like granting permission to do something they may see as frivolous,” says Dr. Suzanne Hackenmiller.
Bauer issues about 30 nature scripts per year. He’s noticed that getting “a piece of paper” with a prescription to go outside gets people’s attention.
Lest you think only wild, remote locales offer health cures, researchers are finding benefits to city walking too.
Researcher Whitney Fleming notes that people who notice plant life while walking—even in a cityscape—were much less anxious afterward than those asked to focus on human-made elements. The plant-focused group also reported feeling more positive emotions.
“Look at the green,” Fleming says. “Most cities have greenery. No matter where you are, you can find a nice tree.”
Until recently, much research was biased against the “built environment” like buildings and sidewalks, says social psychology professor César San Juan Guillén.
He’s compared people who spent time in a green city park to those who went to a busy plaza with a historic church, playground, and restaurants. Both showed improved mental performance and attention, he says, and had fewer negative emotions.
One surprise: Even the group in the built-up plaza felt more energized and less stressed.
Author Annabel Abbs-Streets extols walking outside. She suggests finding the closest historic cemetery. “It’s not that green is good and gray is terrible,” she says. “The truth is that green and gray are just very different. Sometimes the difference is good.”
Why? God, the Creator and Great Physician, first set man and woman into a garden. Being outdoors brings us into contact with His creation, and that’s good for mind, body, and soul.
