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A recent American study shows that spending 20 minutes a day hiking – or sitting in a place where you feel connected to nature – results in a significant reduction in your stress hormone levels.
Researchers at the University of Michigan conducted the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
Connecting with nature and spending time with parks and gardens can be a cost-effective way to reduce the negative health effects of urban growth and modern lifestyles of sitting in front of screens for a long time.
To achieve the results of the eight-week study, researchers asked participants to spend at least 10 times a day in the wild, at least three times a week.
During this period, the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, were measured from saliva samples taken before and after the time was taken in the parks.
Researchers found that spending at least one-third of an hour in nature, whether walking, hiking or even sitting relaxed, reduced cortisol levels participants.
Excessive stress increases cortisol and alters metabolism, causing hunger and the desire to eat all kinds of foods, pushing us to eat unhealthy foods such as fast food and ultimately leading to obesity and to diseases resulting from a bad sleep.
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