How nature helps with our soul

NATURE 

'Nature Reduces Stress.
Stress hormones, blood pressure and heart rate all decreased after people spent time outside in green spaces over a variety of different studies, many using different methodologies and study designs.'

'In one study, researchers in Japan examined the physical effects of shinrin-yoku — translated as “taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing” — on participants. They found that a 15-minute walk in the woods brought about measurable changes in physiology: a 16 percent decrease in the stress hormone cortisol, a 2 percent drop in blood pressure, and a 4 percent drop in heart rate.'

'I turn to the outdoors for the sense of peace it gives me. When life gets stressful, when everything seems like it’s falling down around me, when I get short tempered and irritable, I know I’ve been spending too much time indoors. When I’m surrounded by growing things and wide-open skies, when there’s dirt beneath my feet, when the air smells like pine needles drenched in sunlight and my ears are filled with the sounds of babbling brooks and birdsong, that is where my breathing slows and I start to feel calm wash over me.'