How Long Do You Need to be in Nature to Reduce Your Stress?

As you may be aware with the Pandemic, more people have been spending time in nature as a way to get out of the house while they’re still staying safe.

So, this raised an interesting question as to how long do you need to be in nature for it to significantly reduce your level of stress?

Well, an article published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2019 looked at this.

The researchers asked 36 people to spend 10 minutes or longer, three days a week for eight weeks, in an outdoor place where they could interact with nature. The settings varied from yards to public parks to green areas near their place of work. They also either walked or sat during their nature time.

The researchers found that spending at least 20 to 30 minutes on those 3 days a week immersed in a nature setting was associated with the biggest drop in the volunteer’s cortisol levels. After that length of time, additional stress-reduction benefits accrued more slowly. 

They also found that time of day and location didn't affect benefits the volunteer’s received in the reduction of their stress levels.

Another study published by Cornell University in February 2020 with college students found that they only needed 10 minutes in nature to feel happier and to reduce the effects of both physical and mental stress.

What this research does is give you a reasonable goal to aim for of being out in nature from 10 to 30 a number of times a week can have great benefits in reducing your stress, and it doesn’t have to be in a full-fledged State or National Park. Your backyard could be enough.

So…anybody for taking a walk?