Research shows that being outdoors in nature improves our wellbeing. What’s more, it boosts our mood and makes us happier. So how can you create more happiness in nature? We explore the nature happiness connection.
How Nature Affects Our Emotions
If you’ve ever felt good after being in nature, there’s a reason. Studies have repeatedly shown that time in nature increases our physical wellbeing. Our heart rate decreases. We feel less stressed, for instance and we ruminate on negative events less. But what about our happiness? Maybe there’s somewhere you know, a place that, when you’re there, you feel happier? Stop and pause for a moment. Where is it? How do you feel when you’re there? That’s nature connection in action. So, what’s going on?
The Nature Happiness Connection
Nature is an important factor in keeping us happy. What do we mean by nature? As luck would have it, nature can mean many things for our research purposes. It can mean all green spaces, for example, parks, forests or woodlands. It also includes what are known as ‘blue spaces’ like rivers, beaches, wetlands or canals. Live in an urban space? Nature can include trees on your street, gardens, window boxes, verges and even your indoor pot plants. More importantly, even watching nature videos or documentaries or looking at images of nature has been shown to be good for our mental health. Wherever you find yourself, you can connect to nature.
Increasing Your Nature Happiness
Our relationship with nature is vital for our mental health. Studies have found that when people feel more connected to nature, they are likely to feel that life is more worthwhile. They feel a deep sense of purpose and positivity.
Quality of Nature Connection
The quality of your connection with nature makes a difference. By engaging in activities that involve your senses, you can develop a more prfound connection with the natural world. To increase the quality of your nature connectedness, choose activities where you are able to feel emotions, for example, compassion, awe and meaning. So, how can you increase the quality of your nature connectedness?
- Find a tree & give it a hug (honestly, we do this all the time at Mindful Rewilding. We even ask for permission from the tree first). Touch the bark and notice how it feels. Do you sense an energy from the tree?
- Watch a nature documentary or a video of waves breaking on the shore
- Go for a mindful walk
- Listen to birdsong
- Sit in a park and meditate on the sounds around you
- Create a window box and plant seeds or bulbs
Discover more about ecopsychology by taking a look through our blogs. Want to learn more about ecopsychology and wellbeing? Explore our mindfulness in nature resources available on our mindful Rewilding courses . Come and say hello and discover how we can work together
