Hello! Following our ‘Green Wellbeing’ session here are some of the top tips and tools.
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Getting the benefits of nature…….
….from the Outdoors
It’s really about being present, being curious. Taking the headphones out, lifting the head up and starting to look around. Noticing, the weeds in the pavement, the neighbours garden, the clouds moving across the sky. Kids are great a this! They instinctively know to slow down, be curious and use all their senses.
Within one hour of waking up, get direct exposure to sunlight (no sunglasses, windows, or windshields) for at least 10minutes, or 20 on a cloudy day.
- improves serotonin production and dopamine levels, (serotonin: wellbeing and satisfaction dopamine: motivation and focus, energy and sense of pleasure in what we do)
- increases melatonin production which regulates our body clock and helps us sleep later in the day,
- manages cortisol levels : immune system, metabolism, ability to focus in the day.
There is a richness to exploring nature in the evening, or simply paying it a bit of attention.
Start to notice the phases of the moon. You can use a star gazing app for free which tells you what you are looking at and whether that’s a shooting star of the ISS whizzing over your head.
Don’ t let the weather stop you!
Considering we live in Northern Ireland, we’d never get into nature if we waited for a break in the rain. If we are willing to surrender to it, the weather, even wind and rain, can give us even more of an experience of nature. Embrace the wildness!
Keep heading outdoors in the winter
We need nature and light therapy more than ever in the winter months. Wrap up, grab a blanket, a flask of tea or hot chocolate/soup. You can buy good hiking shoes but not everyone has the budget so a pair of wellies and some cosy socks is a lot cheaper.
….from Indoors
Set up your spaces so it’s easy to view nature. This is especially important for those who are ill or elderly: could the set up be changed to make nature more visible, or could nature be brought to them?
Make a space with a view
Take a tiny nature doseday.
Even if you don’t have time for a walk, or don’t want to face the weather, a University in Australia found just looking at a green scene out your window for 40 seconds can give you an attention boost.
Houseplants can be powerful allies for mental and emotional health
If you don’t have especially green fingers, deciding to get a plant can feel a bit daunting. So here are some hard-to-kill options…
From top left clockwise….
Peace lily, Christmas cactus, Jade plant (or money plant), Dracaena marcinata, Spider plant, String of hearts
If you have already have a pet start engaging with them a little more purposefully, taking small moments to make eye contact.
If you don’t and would like to get some of benefits without the full-time responsibility then ask to borrow a friends pet for a walk or cuddle once a week. Borrow my doggy is a service set up for this and you’ll find dogs in your local area that you can look after.
We all really need to have better boundaries with our phones.
But we do rely on them a lot. So given the piece of research about the difference just viewing pictures of nature scenes can do for us, why not change your lock screen/ wallpaper on your phone to a picture of place in nature you’d always love to visit or somewhere you know well and love.
Nature brings hope….and nurture
When we are in a hard or dark place it can seem unthinkable that we will ever feel better, happy, content. But nature tells us that there is always hope. Winter becomes spring and then summer. Leaves fall but buds come again.
Nature is the perfect model and example of what living hopefully is all about: it takes hope and faith to put a tiny dead looking speck of seed in the dirt and imagine that it might turn into something that might nourish or even shelter you.
Nature not only shows us that hope is worth having it also acts as the nurture we need to get there.
Remember….
Whichever shifts you choose to experiment with, remember that powerful outcomes are often delayed. Don’t loose heart if it takes a while to see results - they will happen!
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