How Nature Can Improve Your Mental Health

How have you been feeling lately? Are you cooped up inside your house all day? Maybe you’re still adjusting to a new schedule of working from home and socializing less. Did you know that spending most of your time indoors can lead to depression? If you’ve been feeling a little down in the dumps lately, then maybe some time in nature is just what you need!

Soak Up the Sun

According to Kenneth Wright, director of the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at the University of Colorado, Boulder, exposure to the sun helps your body regulate your appetite, sleep schedule, mood, and energy levels. Staying indoors may cause insomnia, low energy, and lack of appetite.

This is why you should go for a walk every morning, if possible. Allow your body to soak up some sunshine to wake yourself up and start your day on a more positive note. You may not be walking as much as you were before the quarantine, so this is a great way to get your steps in. It will increase your heart rate and release endorphins to increase your overall mood for the day.

Green Spaces

A study from the University of Rochester states that when humans spend time outside in green spaces such as fields, forests, or parks, their vitality is boosted by 40 percent. Higher vitality results in having more physical and mental energy.

A nice hiking trail will do just the trick! Not only will it incorporate some more green into your life, but you can invite your partner or dog along for the adventure.

Relax to the Max

Calming nature sounds like birds and flowing water can lower blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which calms the body's fight-or-flight response (Health.harvard.edu).

If you don’t have the time to go outside, you can listen to calming nature sounds online. Here’s a video with eight whole hours worth of chirping birds and rushing water.

Magnificent Magnesium

Another way that you can bring nature into your home to improve your overall health and wellbeing is by consuming more magnesium.

It is involved in virtually all bodily functions. Most importantly, the relaxation of muscles!

Magnesium is an element that contributes to both plant and human life. Plants absorb it from the soil to partake in photosynthesis and get their healthy green color.

Where do humans get magnesium? Magnesium can be consumed in a few different ways, actually. The most common way is through our diets. Some of the most popular foods containing magnesium include green vegetables, avocado, bananas, raspberries, nuts and legumes, and seafood (salmon, mackerel, and tuna).

If your muscles or joints are suffering from pain, your mental health is going to suffer, as well. The most efficient way to fix this is by using MuscleCare, a bio-innovation in magnesium that acts as a huge muscle and sympathetic nervous system relaxer. It pushes magnesium into your skin so that any physical pain you feel will be pushed out. As soon as your muscles can relax, your brain will have an easier time taking mental breaks.

The last way to consume more magnesium is through dietary supplements. You can find magnesium supplements at almost any grocery or drug store.

You may not be able to go to your favorite restaurant or socialize with your friends right now, but at least you can escape your worries and get lost on your local walking trail. Take some time to ground yourself and indulge in some self-care. Nature is always an option!