Taking at least twenty minutes of your day to walk or sit in a place where you feel in touch with nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels. That is the finding of a study that for the first time has established the most effective dose of an urban nature experience.
"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," said the lead author of this study. “Our research shows that for the best payoff, in terms of efficiently lowering the stress hormone cortisol, you should sit or walk for 20 to 30 minutes in a place that gives you a sense of nature.”
Natural pills can be an inexpensive solution to reduce the negative health impacts resulting from growing urbanization and the lifestyle within the home dominated by screen display. Therefore, the researchers designed an experiment that would provide a realistic estimate of an effective dose.
Over an 8-week period, the participants were asked to take a natural pill lasting 10 minutes or more, at least 3 times a week. Levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, were measured from saliva samples taken before and after a natural pill, once every two weeks.
The data showed that just a twenty-minute nature experience was enough to significantly lower cortisol levels. But if you spent a little more time on a wildlife experience, sitting or walking for 20 to 30 minutes, cortisol levels dropped at their fastest rate. Thereafter, the additional relaxation benefits continue to increase, but at a slower pace.
