Erin Bunch
Aug 19, 2024
Research supports the idea that just being in nature — i.e. sitting at the beach, having a picnic in the park — is good for you. More research is needed to figure out exactly why this is, but experts have a few theories as to why this could be.
Modern life has made it much easier to become "an indoor cat" than an outdoor one. Days spent migrating from one screen to the next — from the computer to the TV to a late-night iPhone scroll session in bed — are far more common than those spent immersed in nature. This feels less than healthy for a reason: spending time outdoors is beneficial to your health, so by staying in, you're missing out.
Anyone who ventures outside, especially after hours spent indoors, is likely to intuit that doing so will benefit their well-being. Nature is a vibe, and that vibe is good! But you don't have to rely on instinct as proof; science shows there are tangible physical and mental health benefits to spending time outdoors. Here, experts explain the research backing the well-being-boosting benefits of nature and describe strategies for incorporating more time outside into screen-heavy routines.
Nature is no slouch when it comes to being a serious Rx for good health. According to A. Heather Eliassen, ScD, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, exposure to green space has been linked to improvements in sleep, blood pressure, and physical ability, as well as reduced risks of chronic disease, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. "Evidence is also accumulating that exposure to green space is associated with lower total mortality," she says.