Health Tip of the Week: Nature

Exposure to nature-based environments is associated with lower blood pressure and reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol…and is also responsible for higher levels of activity in the branch of the nervous system responsible for calming us down. – excerpt from This is Your Brain on Nature by Eva M. Selhub, MD and Alan C. Logan, ND

Research on the effects of nature on our bodies and brains is amazing!

We know that exercise is good for us, but outdoor, nature-based exercise is exponentially more effective for decreasing mortality, decreasing sick-days, decreasing stress, and improving mood.

I would like to talk for a long time about all the studies and their results but since this is a health-tip, I’ll save the details for a book review or article at a later date.

This week, despite of the conditions, go outdoors and walk for at least 20 minutes per day. It’s important to start this habit now because it gets harder to start if you wait for the arctic-feeling temperatures.

Get out there!!