You may have come across terms such as ‘forest bathing’ or ‘Nature bathing’. These terms don’t actually mean heading out into the wilds with your shampoo and towel. They actually refer to ‘bathing’ the senses. And the claim is that bathing the senses in nature is good for you. Good for both your mind and your body.
But is that true?
Turns out, it is! And there is an ever increasing list of scientific studies to back it up.
But How Can Just Being Outside be Good for You?
For one thing, and possibly the most important thing for many people today, is that going outside takes you away from your busy life.
Cell phones and iPads can follow you outside, but pretty much everything else cannot. And even if you do throw a device in your pocket, there are generally so many natural distractions that you are less inclined to pick it up. That is a big stress reduction simply from not having the news on in front of you. Or looking at that huge pile of dishes that needs to be washed. Or that stack of papers that needs to be dealt with. Or in the case of kids, the pile of homework or chores that need to be done.
Outside you are looking at nature instead. And that alone is very calming.
But there is more to it than simply stepping away from the to-do list.
Being outside has a calming effect on the brain as well. Studies have shown that time outdoors reduces depression, increases focus and simply gives people an over all improvement in the feeling of well being.
Being outside also increases focus. You know that do-to list we were just talking about? When the to-do list is pushed to the side for a while, it allows the brain to focus on other things. Many of the worlds well known thinkers have discovered this as well.
“And into the woods I go, to lose my mind and find my soul” ~John Muir
One study on children with ADHD found that just a 20 minute walk outside made a noticeable difference in their ability to focus afterwards.
What Does The Science Say?
Science has gained the addition of specialized equipment that can read brainwaves outside of the lap. Portable devices that can be taken anywhere and used to “watch” what is going on inside the human brain in different situations. With these new tools, scientists have discovered that the part of the brain that is most involved in modern life (the frontal cortex) quiets down when people are outside in nature. The type of brain waves present also change when people are outside. Alpha waves, which have been connected with meditation and a sense of calm, increase when people are out in nature.
So the idea of nature being good for mental well being isn’t just an old wives tale. Modern science agrees.
And science also backs up the hypothesis that nature is good for the body. Studies have shown an increase in immune cells, a decrease is cortisol (the stress hormone), a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure, and people who have spent time outside during the day tend to sleep better that night.
Being Outdoors Uses All The Senses
When people are indoors we tend to only use our senses of sight and sound. The rest really aren’t necessary. So they get neglected. But being outside reawakens the rest of the senses.
We feel the wind or the water.
We smell the flowers or the fall leaves on the forest floor.
Also, instead of only using our hand-eye coordination, we have to use our foot-eye coordination. Outside, we need to watch where we put our feet because the ground is uneven. And because there are rocks, and roots, and holes all around us.
This body-eye connection is actually a sense all its own. But it’s one that isn’t well known or often talked about. Yet it is very important and many of todays children are severally lacking in it.
It’s called ‘proprioception’.
Proprioception. What Is It and How Does it Connect with the Outdoors?
Proprioception is more than just a big, difficult to pronounce word. It is “the sense of self, in space”. In other words, it is knowing where your body is in relation to what your eyes see.
It involves balance, spatial judgement, and subconscious thought.
When we walks down a street, through the woods, or really anywhere, do we look at the spots where we are placing our feet? No. We are looking ahead to see where we are going. (Try it, next time you go for a walk anywhere, notice from time to time where your eyes are looking. I bet you won’t be looking at your feet very often!)
Even when walking on a trail through the woods, we generally aren’t looking directly at our feet. Unless the trail is extremely uneven or precarious. And this is because we are able to use spatial judgement, and subconscious thought, to notice where our feet are going to go before we get there. And then remember to put our feet in the right spot. This way we can spend most of our time looking ahead at our destination. Instead of staring at the ground the whole time. We only need to look at our feet when our spatial judgement tells us that there is some tricky terrain coming up ahead.
But now how does that connect to the outdoors?
Well the thing is, our modern lifestyles have been detrimental to our sense of proprioception.
Sidewalks are flat, roads are smooth, curbs are predictable, and every step in a set of stairs is exactly the same height. Because of this we really don’t need to use that sense of distance judgement very much. We know where the ground is going to be when we put our foot on it without having to look ahead and remember.
(There are actually videos on YouTube of people walking up and down a set of stairs that has one step slightly different than the rest… and you would be amazed at how many people stumble. Check it out for yourself!)
And so our sense of proprioception weakens. But when we walk outdoors where flat predictable surfaces are few and far between… proprioception comes back into practice.
Proprioception and City or Suburban Kids
Now that we know what proprioception is and how being outdoors strengthens it… what about kids who are raised away from nature?
Well, that is a good question. And it is true that many urban and suburban kids are lacking in proprioception.
Unfortunately no playground or kids gym is a sufficient substitute for nature. That is because of laws and lawyers. Those uneven, unpredictable surfaces bring more chances of getting hurt. And we all know that if a child gets hurt at a playground, someone is going to get sued.
So in an effort to prevent legal troubles, playgrounds have been designed to be as safe as possible. And this includes smooth flat surfaces, evenly spaced stairs, no holes or low spots, and a nice soft matt or material on the floor to pad any child that does fall. For instance, a balance beam at a playground has a flat even surface. A fallen log in the woods does not.
It is actually surprisingly difficult for a child to get badly hurt at a playground.
And while that isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, it does lead to a child growing up without ever really developing a good sense of proprioception. (Or risk analysis, but that is a topic for another day.) This is why so many children today are clumsy. They simply haven’t had adequate time to learn to maneuver their own bodies on uneven and unpredictable terrain. Proprioception makes people more graceful.
But this is 100% preventable, and fixable, simply by spending time in nature.
COVID and the Great Outdoors
And now on to the worlds new favorite topic… how does COVID play into all of this?
For many COVID has brought on increased levels of stress. And for many others it has decreased stress. It really is a very individual thing. For some the mental effects of working from home are very much positive, and for others they are very much the opposite.
But either way, working from home makes it harder to separate work from life. Because everything happens in the same space. And the same is true for kids who are attending school virtually. Work, school, and play all begin to blend together.
But nature can help with this. Going outside can help redefine that boundary. Outside is not work and it isn’t school. Which makes it easier to let go of all the stress associated with work and school.
Lockdowns have also caused an even greater reduction in kids time to practice proprioception. Because homes do not have unpredictable terrain. And most backyards are as flat a manicured as possible. So being stuck at home all the time doesn’t leave much space to practice this valuable skill.
But luckily social distancing at public parks and natural areas is generally fairly easy to do. So as the world slowly opens back up, making time for the great outdoors is even more important than ever.
Just Go Outside!
So the moral of the story here is… the great outdoors is good for people of all ages. Now more than ever.
Going outside:
- Reduces stress
- Increases immunity
- Increases the sense of wellbeing
- Separates work/school from life
- Exercises the body and the sense
- Teaches us proprioception
- And it is all backed by science
So keep these things in mind moving forward. Going outside may seem like a useless waste of time to some, but it is truly good for everyone.
Body and mind.
