Eating proper and exercising are vital methods to remain mentally and bodily healthy. And as an alternative of getting off the sofa and hopping on a treadmill, you would possibly wish to think about going open air and reaping the health advantages of being in nature.
And do not be shocked at your subsequent physician’s go to while you get a prescription for parks as an alternative of drugs.
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Being open air in nature is a vital consider staying healthy. It’s an idea known as biophilia.
“Biophilia means that we are wired to be connected to nature — that there’s something healthy about having nature either in our presence or us being present in nature,” says Dr. Brent Bauer, a general internal medicine doctor at Mayo Clinic. “There’s actually a lot of research on this topic. So it’s no longer just, ‘Nature sounds good.’ We know it’s actually really good. Those studies range from evaluating people who are in a city and then taken into a forest. What happens to blood pressure? What happens to heart rate? And in many, many studies, we do much better in the natural environment.”
Which is why some healthcare professionals are writing “park prescriptions.”
“It’s kind of, I think, heightening the importance of getting out into nature. More than just saying we should. Now we actually have a prescription,” says Dr. Bauer.
Studies counsel the most effective dose of nature is at the very least two hours per week. And if you cannot get exterior, deliver the nature indoors.
“There’s still plenty of benefits to listening to bird songs, listening to nature sounds, having a water fountain — just having elements around you that are made of stone and wood,” says Dr. Bauer.
