Here’s a new BBC article about how little outdoor activity is really needed to make a difference in your outlook.Don’t tell me you don’t have time to get outside! You’ll find just a few minutes in nature restores your perspective on things that are troubling you and helps you make decisions.
Green space is important for mental health
Just five minutes of exercise in a “green space” such as a park can boost mental health, researchers claim.
There is growing evidence that combining activities such as walking or cycling with nature boosts well-being.
In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem.
The study in the Environmental Science and Technology journal suggested the strongest impact was on young people.
The research looked at many different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail.
The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes.
With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were clearly apparent but were of a smaller magnitude, the study found.
Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes – physical and mental – were particularly strong in the young and the mentally-ill.
Green and blue
A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water – such as a lake or river.
Study leader Jules Pretty, a researcher at the University of Essex, said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from “green exercise”.
We would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate
Paul Farmer, Mind
“Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health.”
He also said exercise programmes outdoors could benefit youth offenders.
“A challenge for policy makers is that policy recommendations on physical activity are easily stated but rarely adopted widely.”
Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said the research is yet further evidence that even a short period of green exercise can provide a low cost and drug-free therapy to help improve mental wellbeing.
“It’s important that people experiencing depression can be given the option of a range of treatments, and we would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate.”
Mind runs a grant scheme for local environmental projects to help people with mental illness get involved in outdoor activities.
A recent story in my local paper told of a young family whose raft flipped on the Colorado River east of Moab, Utah. The water temperature was in the 50s, and they were forced to “swim” through a minor rapid. They barely made it. The family included the mother, father and two children, ages 3 years and 11 months. They all wore life vests.
After being rescued and treated for hypothermia, the mother stated, “That’s just what we do. We don’t stop living because we have kids.” The couple estimates they’ve rafted the same stretch uneventfully 15 or 20 times.
What do you think of this family’s decision to take babies along on a raft trip through mild rapids during cold-water season?
I’m not going to bash this family the way some have. I agree with one reader who commented that we risk our children’s lives every time we take them out in a car. However, I’d like to point out what could have been a fatal flaw in the couple’s thinking.
I could be totally wrong, but it sounds like this couple believed they had two choices:
1. Continue rafting in the same manner they had before having children, or
2. Stop rafting altogether.
This is known as black-and-white thinking. Any time you’re making a decision between two options and believe those to be your only choices, you’re guilty of black-and-white thinking, and chances are excellent that there are some “gray” alternatives you haven’t considered.
Here are just a few alternatives I could have suggested for this family:
1. Continue rafting, but limit yourself to water temperatures that aren’t likely to produce hypothermia.
2. Continue rafting as a couple and have someone babysit until the kids are old enough to wear wet suits and swim.
3. Continue rafting and take the babies, even when the water is cold, but limit yourself to flat water. The Colorado River just below where they flipped is so flat you’d have a hard time forcing a boat over.
4. Continue rafting and take the babies, even when the water is cold, but invite some extra adults along for added safety.
I’m sure you can think of some other possibilities that would have been less risky for this family but still preserved their adventurous lifestyle.
Keep this story in mind the next time you’re feeling conflicted about what to do. Have you really considered all of your options?
Ask people in your support network if they can think of creative alternatives that haven’t occurred to you. There may be a possibility that will allow you to have what you want with less sacrifice than you may realize.
When have you fallen into black-and-white thinking? Do you know any creative ways to generate more alternatives? Please share your experiences with us by leaving a comment.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the different things people suggest you do to be more “green.” Are you having trouble deciding what one person can do to have a big impact?
No matter how much you reduce your personal consumption of Earth’s resources, there are so many factors beyond your control that it’s easy to feel discouraged by the enormity of the problem. Until we shift at a societal level, your efforts are going to feel like (and be) a drop in the bucket.
Let’s face it. Every time I turn off my car engine rather than idling, there are probably thousands of people who are still idling. Did I really make a difference?
Our society has cut itself off quite distinctly from the natural world. We live indoors, and even when we go out into the world, many of us go directly from our house to our garage to our car. Because of television and movies, we may know more about some esoteric frog in the Brazilian rainforest than we do about the insects that live in our own backyard.
And for almost any discomfort we may encounter, there is a human-designed fix. Cold? Turn up the heat. Headache? Take some aspirin. Lonely? There’s always Facebook.
This disconnect between people and the natural world has caused many to see “the Earth” as something separate from themselves.
The phrase “Save the Earth” is very telling. Earth is just a planet. It really doesn’t care what you do. What we’re really talking about is preserving life on Earth, and the natural systems that make life possible–including our lives.
We really should say, “Save the Humans,” because our fate is completely intertwined with the rest of the natural world.
So…the #1 thing you can do to make a difference on Earth Day and every day? Maintain your connection with the natural world and pass it on to others, especially children. Get outside, and send your kids out to play. Go sit by a stream. Go outside at 11:00 tonight, look around and listen. Then invite your friends to go with you.
Even if you’re in midtown Manhattan, I guarantee that nature is all around you and infused in everything you do. If you look for a connection to nature, you will see it everywhere.
If those of us who live in disconnected cultures regain our sense of being part of nature instead of separate from it, there could be a huge shift in the way we look at environmental issues.
Until the majority of people in the high-consumption cultures stop seeing the natural world as something optional you can visit during your summer vacation and understand that nature is an extension of themselves, too many people will continue to make choices that harm “the Earth” and all of us living on it.
How has time spent in nature affected your outlook on environmental issues? I’d love to hear your comments.
When I was a child, we used to make origami fortune tellers. You can learn how to make and use one here.
As an adult, I’ve found these little doodads are quite handy tools for making decisions. It’s perfect for, “Do I want to go to the Italian bistro on the corner or that new Thai place downtown?” where all options are good ones. It’s a variation on eenie-meenie-miney-moe.
Random methods like this might seem absurd for bigger decisions, but I’ve noticed that they hold the key to something that has enormous value in your decision making, even for the really major choices.
Here’s how it works:
Make your fortune teller.
Inside the flaps, write your options. If you don’t have 8 options, you can repeat some or have a “do over” section to fill a blank space.
Do something fairly random like spelling out every letter of your full name. As you say each letter, move the fortune teller in and out. After saying the last letter, pick a flap to open. Whatever is written beneath the flap is your decision.
“WHAT?!” you say, “Decide the future of my life randomly using a child’s toy? Hrrmph!” and off you go. Well, hold on a minute. There’s one last step, and it’s critical.
Notice your response to the decision. Some part of you was secretly hoping for one of the options instead of the others. What is it saying now that the fortune teller is giving you a decision?
You have not been listening to that part of yourself or you wouldn’t be playing with a silly fortune teller trying to make a colossal decision like this. If you had been listening, you would already know what to do. What is that little voice telling you?
Once you acknowledge the existence of the part of you that knows what to do, you may need to ask, “Why have I avoided hearing what this part of me has to say?”
Maybe this decision would complicate your life. Maybe your best friend has already said she thinks it’s a dumb idea. Maybe it’s terrifying. Or maybe, even though you do have a preference, you still have a strong attachment to the other options as well. Big decisions usually do involve some type of loss.
Figuring out what has held you back in making this decision can help resolve your indecision and move you forward. But hearing your inner voice has just launched you 90% of the way there. As a friend once said, “The duodenum never lies.”
For some very amusing entertainment that explains why the fortune teller decision-making method can work, watch this video by Tim Brownson:
Do these ideas ring true for you? Please share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment.
When I’ve mentioned to friendsthat I’m planning to develop some coaching materials on the topic of decision making, nearly every one of them has said, “Will you coach ME?”
Copyright 2010 Sue Mitchell
Why do so many people feel so inadequate in this area? I think it has to do with not wanting to be wrong. Most people either agonize over their decisions so as not to make the wrong choice or make decisions sort of willy-nilly and then experience regret. And since we’re making choices virtually every moment we’re awake…aye aye aye! That’s a lot of agonizing and regret.
I think we’d all prefer to go through our lives feeling confident in our decisions, with the resolve to follow through. I’ve found the key to doing that is by using the power of nature.
By nature, I mean two things. Yes, I do mean the Great Outdoors. I also mean you and your inner nature. We all arrived here on Earth with a certain nature, and when we’re aware of our true nature, we can make decisions with ease. Conveniently, the best way to remind ourselves of our own true nature is by getting outside with the rest of the natural world.
I’m working on some materials that help you identify what’s really most important to you and peel back all the conflicting thoughts given to you by society and even the people closest to you, causing you to lose touch with your own true nature.
I’ll be writing much more on this subject, so please subscribe to my RSS feed. I’ll be getting into the various decision-making pitfalls to avoid, the key elements that must be in place to make confident decisions, specific exercises you can do indoors or outdoors to help you get off the fence once and for all, as well as musings about what our decision-making habits say about us and our culture.
We would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate 
