Study shows that spending two hours outdoors is good for your health

If you feel stressed and want to enjoy the health benefits of spending time in nature (which, according to some studies, could reduce depression and anxiety, lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of Other diseases and stimulate creativity and cognitive abilities.want to aim for two hours outside of a week.

A new study examined data from a survey conducted by the UK government that had asked nearly 20,000 people in the UK to monitor their activities for a week. Those who spent two hours in nature, whether during a trip or several smaller visits to a park, were much more likely to report better health and a better -be than those who spent less time outside. After about 200 to 300 minutes in total on the outside, the effect reached its maximum.

This is one of the first studies to attempt to quantify exactly how much time people should spend outside. Researchers, based at the Exeter University School of Medicine, found that patients began asking patients questions about the benefits of exposure to nature. "They come and say, 'Doctor, how much time do I have to spend? "Said Mathew White, environmental psychologist and lecturer at the university and senior author of the study. "And the doctors say," We do not really know. "So we try to give doctors and patients the kind of evidence that they can say, why do not you try two hours a week? & # 39;

White says the researchers did not know how long to expect to be beneficial. "We were really relieved, it was two hours and not 12 hours," he says. "Two hours, it's feasible." It did not matter too much if the visits were brief, provided that they totaled at least two hours. "It could be accumulated during the week: half an hour here, half an hour and before you know it, you know, you've reached two hours. Nevertheless, 60% of our sample had not spent so much time in the wild each week. By making small changes to increase that time, it is likely that people could benefit.

If you're trying to count your minutes, know that outside does not just mean walking to the store or spending time in your garden. The study indicates that she examined "open spaces in and around cities, including parks, cbads, and natural areas; the coast and the beaches; and the countryside, including farmland, woods, hills and rivers. It will take some effort to get the time you need – even if most of the places visited were less than three kilometers from home – but it may be worth it.

The benefits were distinct from any physical exercise done on the outside. "Exercise is good in itself," he says. "It's the advantage at the top. And one of the ways we know it is that a large proportion of our sample is not exercising – let alone in a park – and continues to show health and wellbeing benefits that she sits and organizes picnics and that sort of thing. "

This is the first study to examine the effects of a one-week nature visit, and one of the first to examine the effects on so many people – young and old, men and women, urban and rural, rich and poor. This could be the first step in the development of a new government directive that recommends a particular timeframe outside, similar to the guidelines for the exercise.

Doctors in some health centers are already beginning to "prescribe" nature to patients; In Scotland, for example, the National Health Service in the Shetland Islands recommends beach walks and other outdoor activities. But other studies like this could help make these prescriptions more effective. The next step, says White, will be to build on this research, which looked at data from a single week. "What we really need is a longitudinal cohort of a few thousand people that we watch for a few years to see what happens when they change their exposure to nature and what happens next, months and years, for their health and well-being. to be, he says.