Nature, Stress and Anxiety
The science is clear: mindfully spending time with nature significantly reduces stress and anxiety. It can also lift mood, sharpen focus, strengthen the immune system and restore a sense of calm that is hard to find anywhere else.
Check out the science-based activities in our Nature Connection Kit to help stop the stress and anxiety in your life. Our Nature Connection Kit's designed to create 'awe' and 'playfulness', both key to unwinding in nature.
The science
Decades of research has demonstrated the positive physical and mental effects of spending mindful time in nature. Hunter et al. (2019) studied participants across multiple nature experiences in everyday urban life and found that even short doses of nature measurably reduced salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase, two reliable biological markers of stress.
"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you." - Anne Lamott
Virginia Sturm's research (2022) showed that finding awe on a walk can calm us down, make us happier, less stressed, more connected to the world around us, and even give us bigger smiles. Older adults who took weekly awe walks reported greater joy, gratitude and compassion, and showed noticeably more positive emotions than those who walked without that intentional focus on wonder. Awe, it turns out, is one of the most effective stress-reduction tools we have.
Nature connection research has found being outdoors can reduce anxiety by 49% and lower stress hormone cortisol by 12.4%. Check out the science-based activities in our Nature Connection Kit for science-backed activities that we hope help you stop feeling stressed and anxious.
Supporting each other
The research highlights the importance of nature connection for our health and our relationships. But it's bigger than us. Connecting to nature and recognising how it supports us is vital to building a sustainable future on Earth. We share our health, joy and destiny with the planet's web of life.
We hope getting outdoors to create space for calm, curiosity and awe in your daily life, grows a sense of gratitude for nature's gifts in you and your community.
"Active Hope is waking up to the beauty of life on whose behalf we can act. We belong to this world." - Joanna Macy