, , , tree climbing, hiking – we’ve all heard that time spent in nature is good for our mental health. Scientists have even examined and found a 20 percent reduction in stress hormones after spending just 20 minutes in nature. But why exactly is spending time outdoors so good for relieving anxiety and depression? And are some outdoor activities better than others for stress relief? I recently got to pose these questions to Dr Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, an Integrative Medicine Physician who, among other things, is also a forest therapy guide, the Chief Medical Advisor for and the author of several books, including .
Hackenmiller became convinced of the benefits of nature therapy after losing her husband to cancer and raising a child on the autism spectrum, experiences that left her disillusioned with the conventional approach to medicine. “We have evolved in nature for thousands of years, and so it's just intuitive that we are healthiest and the most balanced when we are in nature,” says the Arizona-based doctor, who seems to spend as much time poring over new studies on the topic as she does in her guiding nature retreats. In the short half-hour that we talk, she references a where nursing home residents demonstrated fewer symptoms of depression when their facility had more tree coverage, another on which revealed that just ten minutes outdoors produced improvements in all aspects of mental well-being, and yet another showing exhibited the least amount of anxiety .