Nature’s Stress and Anxiety Relief, Naturally!

Being present with nature brings us into the moment and can inspire feelings of awe.

I love to talk about the simple, natural, free and easy things that life already gave us to support our health and well-being. Even though it may not seem like it in this crazy mixed-up world of ours, there’s actually not much that’s more natural and restorative than spending time in nature.

This article looks at why that is and how we can make the most of it to relieve stress in the moment and as an anxiety management tool for the long term.

Spending time in nature doesn’t have to mean ‘going bush’. It can be as simple as sitting in your local park. Time in nature can also be interpreted as time with nature, so simply taking time to closely observe and be present with something of the natural world, such as a tree, a bird, a pebble or a flower, can be supportive. Check out the kid in the photo, entranced by the magical beauty of the dragonfly!

The concept of taking time in nature may seem inaccessible for some due to location, physical or time constraints; certain phobias may preclude others from venturing confidently beyond the safety of four walls. If you find yourself in one of these situations, stay tuned because we’ll look at some ways of working with theses constraints later in the article, to support you to access some of these healing natural benefits.

If you’re already one for spending time in nature, you’re probably already familiar with the calming effects on your mind and nervous system.

Why does time in nature, or time connecting with nature, relieve stress and reduce anxiety?

It’s pretty easy for us to forget, after having moved ever more away from nature over the past few generations, that we are actually creatures of nature. Our natural state involves connection with all of the elements and cycles and systems of nature.

I’m quite sure it’s this ever-widening expanse between the constructs of the ‘new’ human world and the natural world that we were designed for, that is contributing to the increasing incidence of not only anxiety but of dis-eases across the board. Actually, it seems like a bit of a no-brainer to me.

It makes sense that when we remove ourselves from our constructed new world (of toxins, stressors, unnatural schedules, materials and electromagnetic frequencies...) and immerse ourselves in nature, we have a sense of coming home to a natural state of healthy balance. Whether we recognise this consciously, or it is simply registered by our bodies and our subconscious, either way we get the benefits.

Let's have a look at the idea of healthy balance as it relates to two parts of our autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system is the part responsible for the famous fight or flight mode that is super handy at getting the job done, or getting us out of there, in stressful, dangerous or high action situations. The parasympathetic nervous system governs the rest and digest mode, which is where our bodies get on with all of the regenerative and restorative processes that are so vital to our health and wellbeing. Actually, both of these parts are vital to our health and wellbeing and ideally will work in harmonious balance, each in their appropriate time.

Unfortunately, due to things like trauma and exposure to ongoing stress, we can spend way too long, or even get stuck in, the fight or flight mode, otherwise known as sympathetic nervous system dominance. This means we're consistently pumping the stress hormones, rather than having them balanced back out by the happy, feel-good hormones. It also means that we're spending far too little time in the rest and digest mode, thus we're not actually resting, digesting and doing that other good restorative stuff.

We'll see in a moment that even if the circumstances of our lives don't seem particularly stressful, there's a lot of stuff in our human-made environments that the body perceives as stressors, or possible threats, and so they can remain on high alert in fight or flight mode. In other words, we can be anxious as a result of these environmental stressors, without even knowing why.

So the idea is to bring the balance back by deliberately flipping the switch from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system as often as we can, effectively reconditioning the body to return automatically to its healthy, balanced baseline.

Let's have a look at a few things nature gives us to help us flip the switch, starting with natural light. You might not know this but our human-made lights, when they're turned on, appear to just be on but they're actually flicking on and off about 100 times per second. Same goes for our phones and computers that flicker somewhere between 60 and 240 times per second.

We don't pick up on this consciously but our amazing bodies do and they perceive this as a potential threat because we are historically, naturally attuned to the frequencies of nature's natural sources of light - mostly the sun but also moonlight, starlight and firelight. As the light from the sun changes throughout the day, it signals our nervous system to what it needs to be doing, according to the time of day and the natural flow of things.

So when we're removed from human lights and screens and simply receiving the light from natural sources, we're able to restore healthy balance to our nervous system.

Speaking of things vibrating at unnatural frequencies, another human-made stressor comes from human-made, or non-native electromagnetic frequencies, or EMFs. Electromagnetic frequencies are a natural part of life and everything is always vibrating at its own frequency, but these non-native EMFs, like radio waves for radio, wifi, mobile phones etc, microwaves and the electricity generated by powerlines, quite literally interfere with our vibes, and not in a good way.

Again, this is where nature comes in. The more we can remove ourselves from exposure to the non-native EMFs, the more we remain attuned with, or re-attune with, Earth's natural EMFs. Like, for example, a frequency known as the Shumann Resonance, otherwise known as the Earth's heartbeat, which has a frequency of 7.83 hertz, or cycles per second, between the Earth's surface and the ionosphere. (5G, for an example of non-native frequency, is measured in millions and even billions of hertz.)

When we're in nature, our brains attune to this frequency, known in reference to brainwave frequency as the Alpha state, a brainwave state associated with relaxation, meditation, enhanced cognitive function and mental clarity.

Other native EMFs include the Earth's geomagnetic pulse, waving between the Earth's interior and space. While this pulse varies according to a range of factors, it is generally extremely low frequency, somewhere around six cycles per minute. Did you know that six breath cycles per minute, known as resonance breathing or coherence breathing, is considered ideal for heal and wellbeing across a range of factors? Does this seem to you like some bizarre coincidence or do you think perhaps that's part of the perfection of the original design?

We know that slower, deeper breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the boss of the rest and digest mode. It's also an ideal breathing rhythm for re-wiring the brain, an important aspect of the anxiety busting journey. You can learn more about all that here. When we’re away from the hustle and bustle and demands of our work and home lives, spending time in nature, we tend to naturally breathe more slowly and deeply. Not only are we likely to revert naturally to slower, deeper breathing in nature, we're going to be breathing better quality, pollutant-free air too.

You've probably heard of grounding or earthing, in other words, getting your shoes off and standing barefoot on nature's earth. Alternatively, you can experience grounding sitting or lying on the ground. Grounding supports us to attune to the natural frequencies, bringing our nervous system almost immediately into healthy balance.

I love to imagine myself as a tree, extending my roots deep into the earth and feeling my upper body extending upwards, kissed by the air, sun and sometimes even the rain. I also love to imagine the mycorrhizal network, the amazing and wonderful web of communication made of mycelium, or the unseen roots of fungi that spread out beneath the earth's surface, connecting all of the trees together.

Another benefit of getting grounded is that even the harmless bacteria in the soil, communicating with our own microbiome, have a positive effect on our serotonin levels.

Aside from all this, it's pretty obvious that while we love how ‘connected’ our devices make us appear, the reality is the constant barrage of notifications and information is not really as helpful as it seems. It can actually lead to serious overload and is another cause of remaining in the fight or flight mode. I could go on about that for hours but will leave it for now.

So, another benefit of time in nature and leaving the phone behind is detaching from that sense of alert anticipation and allowing yourself to simply rest in the here and now.

Obviously, the more you can do this and for longer periods, the better.

A stronger connection with nature is likely to encourage being more in synch with the natural, healthy rhythms and cycles of being human and adopting a lifestyle that accommodates these rhythms and cycles, rather than struggling against them. For example, going to bed not too long after dark and getting up with the rising of the sun.

A stronger connection with nature is also likely to motivate a desire to consume a more natural diet – whole foods as opposed to processed and water as opposed to sugar drinks. The positive impacts on mental as well as physical health derived from a healthy, natural diet are many and discussed elsewhere.

When we allow our awareness to become focused on the beauty and wonder of the natural world, we are distracted from the worries that can plague our minds and generate those anxious feelings in our bodies.

Further to this, the beauty and magnificence of nature can move us to feelings of awe and wonder, let's face it, nature's pretty awesome. When we're feeling awe and wonder, we trigger the release of feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters including dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.

So even if you can't venture right out into nature, allow yourself to observe her, or parts of her, from where you are. This might involve gazing at a tree or a flower, or even a leaf or a butterfly wing brought in from outside. Allow yourself to notice every tiny detail, consider how each tiny part plays in with the whole, both within each separate organism and within the whole of nature and life on Earth.

Or how about turning off the lights and sitting on the verandah or by the window, allowing yourself the benefits of sunlight? Or you could listen to recordings of nature sounds, like a burbling brook or waves gently lapping or a breeze through the trees. Close your eyes and allow yourself to tune into the sounds, allowing their vibrations to ripple through your body as you imagine yourself safe and secure within a natural setting.

We looked earlier at frequencies and how everything has a frequency, including, believe it or not, smells. Nature can provide a range of soothing benefits via her scents too. We can bring a healthier balance to our nervous system by eliminating as many of the fake and toxic smells as we can from our environments and bringing in natural fragrances in the forms of flowers, leaves and quality essential oils.

I just want to add, planet lover that I am, that the more connected we are with nature, the less we want or need to consume and the more likely we’re going to want to care for our natural environment. Climate change or pollution solution? Just might be.

How to make the most of Time in Nature or Time with Nature

First and foremost, just getting into nature, wherever or however you can, is the place to start.

Depending on where you live and what your capacity for access is, this might be getting into the bush or the forest, or down to the beach, or alongside a river or a lake in a natural setting.

It might be going to your local park. Maybe it’s going into your backyard or sitting on your patio with some potted plants. Even standing with a lone tree in a city-scape.

Wherever possible, take off your shoes and allow yourself to benefit from this close personal contact with the Great Mother. Lying down on her is lovely too.

If you’re largely confined to being indoors, you could spend some time with your indoor plants. You might have a loved one or carer bring you items for a nature table. Watching a nature documentary or listening to a guided nature meditation, or nature sounds, can be supportive too.

The next step to enhance your connection is to begin to engage your senses.

Allow yourself to really notice and pay attention to what you can see, in broad and minute detail. Look at the landscape before you in larger sections. Then allow yourself to zoom in on things like a small patch of grass, a butterfly, a leaf or a piece of bark. And then zoom in even more.

Allow yourself to notice everything you can hear, all the faint and loud sounds, near and far. Wind, birds, insects and so on. Notice the natural sounds of your own body too.

Allow yourself to notice everything you can smell – the earth, the grass, the air, the blooms. Scrunch a leaf and inhale the aromas, or get your nose into a flower

Part your lips and allow yourself to notice what you taste. You might nibble a leaf or a blade of grass.

And allow yourself to feel. Feel the earth supporting your body. Feel the air on your skin. Touch the grass, the stones, the leaves, the bark, the water. Feel the steady beating of your heart, the gentle pulsing of your blood through your veins. Feel the rhythm of your breathing, the flow of air moving in and out in its own natural time.

Allow yourself to focus on one sense at a time and allow yourself to focus on different combinations of senses and allow yourself to immerse all of your senses simultaneously in all of the information that your environment is sharing with you.

Feel the Earth beneath you and her life all around you.

Allow yourself to be with that and to rest in that.

It might feel a little strange at first but, like with anything, the more you practise, the better you get at it and the more you’ll get out of the experience.

As you can see from what we’ve covered here today, spending time in nature is going to benefit not only your own mental and physical well-being, it also has the potential to lead to positive environmental outcomes that benefit all of us who call this beautiful planet home.