Spending at least 120 minutes in nature a week is associated with good health and wellbeing, and guess what, it did not matter how the contacts in nature was achieved (e.g., one long vs. several shorter visits/week). This discovery is based on a research work led by Dr. Mathew P White at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, UK. The research findings are also generally consistent with growing evidence of a positive association between contact with natural environments and health and well-being.
Dr. White’s research used a measure that was based on direct exposure to natural environments and it had used data from a large nationally representative sample of 19,806 participants in England. Exposure to nature was defined in terms of the self-reported minutes spent in natural environments for recreation in the last seven days; and outcomes were self-reported health and subjective well-being. The research findings had also suggested that it did not matter how the 120-minute threshold was achieved as participants selected their way of nature exposures to fit their own preferences and circumstances.
So you can start by setting aside 15 minutes a day or gradually adding more nature exposure to your day as needed. Try this as a new activity and track how it makes you feel by journaling about your experience (e.g., are you feeling more relaxed, more energized or better able to handle stress?). If you want to see how easy it is to keep track by using journaling apps, wait till you check out the Wellness Chums blog post on Journaling Apps and the science backing the benefits of it.
Activating your nature exposure can be enjoyable as a solo activity or in a group with friends or family. I have been using the Map My Walk App since 2011 and find it to be a really handy tool for keeping track of my own nature exposure or physical activities like hiking, running. You can even start a challenge and invite friends through the App to have a go at the challenge. (In full disclosure, this post was not sponsored by Map My Walk).
Scroll down to the list below for other walking, hiking, outdoor activity apps and select one that suits your preference. This simple trick will help you get started on your nature exposure. Keep me in the loop on how your nature exposure goes in the comment links below.
Best of luck, have a spectacular week! - Well wishes from our Wellness Chums team in Singapore.
Great Outdoor Apps for Nature Exposure
1. Map My Walk
2. Walkmeter
Integrable with Apple’s Siri for voice activation, the Walkmeter App also lets you If you choose to share, you can post your workout online for your own analysis, or for sharing with your friends, family, and coaches.
3. Google Fit
Google Fit collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop Heart Points, an activity goal based on WHO’s global recommendations and shown to impact health. Activities that get your heart pumping harder have tremendous health benefits for your heart and mind. You’ll earn one heart point for each minute of moderately intense activity, such as picking up the pace when walking your dog, and double points for more intense activities such as running. It takes just 30-minutes of brisk walking five days a week to reach WHO’s recommended amount of physical activity shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, improve sleep and increase overall mental well-being.
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