The Stealth Health Of Being Outdoors. Surveys On Stress & Anxiety

outdoors mental health two hikers going toward mountain

Photo: Toomas Tartes, Unsplash

A Few More Reasons Why Being Stuck Inside All Day Is No Bueno:

So it’s great to find out interesting health tweaks and tips from study sources.

It’s even more interesting to chase down Old Wives’ Tales and check if any of the crazy stuff your grandmother taught you is right.

Somehow it can be encouraging when you find evidence from simpler, more social sources.

A trusted-colleague can sometimes be more helpful than a guy in a lab coat.

And this time, it looks like Joe Sixpack is bringing his perspective to one of the old Stealth Health factors we discussed several times in the past…

The Short Answer:

Sometimes “every man” surveys can be just as useful as scientific studies.
What they lack in rigor, they make up for in relatability.
Maybe you don’t need to be reminded in summer, but getting outside is actually good for you.
In one survey, Talker Research found 94% of subjects could reduce stress & anxiety just by going outside.
The 70% who reported doing it regularly also had about 10% lower stress levels.
Many of them felt the change in negative emotion as early as 9 minutes.
At least half of subjects valued green-space so much they insisted on it for any place of residence.
Survey participants reported needing about 1 hour of time outside/day to maintain the mental health benefits.
Previous studies have had similar results; between 2 hours/week and 1 hour/day just to be in a green space.
Survey participants who did not get outside regularly reported higher negative emotion in Stress, Anxiety, & Depression.
Perhaps the positive results are due to both 1)Natural light exposure, and 2)Cardiovascular exercise.
Maybe this is also why 30-40 minute walks are so mentally refreshing and seem to get you into the “Flow” state.
If you get outside near/ in a forest, there can be many more benefits associated just by being around trees.
There is an old Japanese practice centered around this called, “Forest Bathing”.
It’s also called “The Green Effect” and has been the subject of a few encouraging studies as well.

Read on to find out the details…

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Getting Outside Is Good For You!:

If the current “Heat Dome” terrorizing the country wasn’t signal enough,

It is officially summer in the US.

And while we’re not freaking-out like it’s March, and finally above 20 degrees again.

Now is the time when lots of us want to get outside.

-If we can do it without burning to a crisp.

And now we have more evidence it’s actually good for you!

Consumer Surveys Shed Some Light On Stealth-Health :

In two small surveys, the marketing company Talker Research found that even non-study subjects can tell the benefits of getting outside.

In one of the surveys, they found 94% of respondents felt going outside for a breath of fresh air significantly helped them cope with stress and anxiety.

And of the ~70% who regularly get outside, they report 10% lower average levels of stress than those who don’t.

Another bonus is the first survey respondents felt the benefits beginning to kick-in around the 9-minute mark.

Without getting into the rest of the marketing schpiel of the survey sponsor, we’ll add one more point.

It seemed like the average person found enough value in the benefits of just getting outside into their own yard, that about half of them said having some kind of green-space for their primary residence was mandatory.

Depending On Which Source, The Amount Each Day Can Vary:

Now for the amount you need.

In another survey by Talker, they found the average amount of time needed outside to feel a benefit averaged at about 1 hour/day.

This seems lower than a previous UK study that had subjects showing benefits at 3.5+.

What’s great is that more people than ever are expressing interest to get out into the great outdoors.

And similar to the prior survey, about 2/3 of them reported improved mood and mental clarity.

Unfortunately, the opposite was also true. Subjects reported higher incidence of depression and anxiety from staying inside and not getting out enough.

Does The Clarity Component Come From Environment Or Cardio?:

The point about mental clarity is an important one.

Because before we recap some of the other studies to inform this one,

I wanted to say I’ve always found going for walks outside to be amazing.

The sciency folks would just tell you it’s increased circulation, but I’m not so sure.

Every time I go for a walk, somewhere around the 30-40 minute-mark, a sense of mental clarity pops up that never fails to amaze.

It’s like you get a whole new brain.

Can Walks Outside Put Your Brain Into The “Flow” State As Well?:

You think clearer, you feel more positive, and helpful ideas of all kinds just start popping-up out of nowhere.

So for my 1-person anec-“data”, my guess is that when people start feeling better from going outside, they’re walking as well.

And I’d be willing to bet they’re experiencing something very similar to what I do.

Not only that, but a little bit further out, there is some evidence that people in better health with better circulation also experience the state of “Flow” much more easily and frequently.

But what does the previous research say about getting outside?

It tends to back up these two informal self-report surveys pretty well, really.

What Do The Actual Studies Say About Getting Outside?:

Much of the benefits of getting outside have been tied to natural light exposure.

One study had UK subjects showing improvements for every hour over the average light exposure.

These included Depression, Anxiety, Sleep quality, and general Mood.

A second study put the time even lower at just 120 minutes per week.

That one also showed benefits even for people with disabilities and long-term illness!

“The Green Effect” And Forest Bathing May Factor In As Well:

Still other work on “The Green Effect” suggests that being in an area with at least 30% tree-cover helps improve the above issues as well.

The theory behind “The Green Effect” and Forest Bathing are similar to what you might expect.

We’ve only lived in cities for a very short time, evolution-wise.

So getting back into a natural environment around trees plugs us back into the ancient parts of our operating system as well.

The Benefits Of Forest Bathing Should Encourage You To Get Out, Too!:

If that wasn’t enough to convince you to get outside,

Here is an even bigger list from the old Japanese practice of “Forest Bathing”.

Its benefits include:

1) Boosted Immune System functioning,
1a) Increase in the body’s Natural Killer (NK) Cell count
2) Reduced Blood Pressure
3) Lower Pulse-rate
4) Reduced Stress
5) Improved Mood
6) Increased Empathy
7) Increased ability to Focus
8) Increased Creative Problem-Solving ability
9) Increased Energy

And those are just a few!

When Normal People Help, Not All Surveys Are Bad:

So I know that a lot of the time, surveys can seem a little bit less reliable than “real” studies.

But in this case, the marketing company is actually on to something.

Who knows what other studies support the participants’ reports about travel and getting even further out of the house?

But at least for the getting outdoors and into nature parts,

The so-called “real” research actually supports them.

So you may not have needed it during warm weather, but here’s another reminder to get outside like your Mom told you when you were 8 years-old and participate in the “Stealth Health” that Mother Nature can give to us all.