Barefoot in the sand

On the importance of spending time with nature

It is snowing outside. Big fluffy flakes are causally making their way to add to the blanket of snow on the ground. There is no hurry in the muffled tranquility. The uniqueness of each snowflake, the falling of crystals from the skies, the ethereal connection, all enliven my wonder and delight. Whatever is happening in my life, being outside, or indeed observing it from my window, comforts and energizes me. I feel connected to the web of life. Even death’s power to worry me is diminished when I’m in nature’s embrace.

My acute experiences in nature have certainly defined much of my life. I’ve been an astronomer, a climate scientist, a gardener, an animal rights activist, an advocate for conservation, and always always always spent as much time as possible out of doors. My appreciation of nature, and my subsequent drive to protect it, have led me to believe that greater exposure and connection to nature encourages eco-conscious behaviors. But my wish for everyone to experience immersion in nature goes beyond my activist motives, I feel sad for people who don’t experience these nature driven upwellings of joy. I don’t understand how they get through the days.

There are loads of other organizations and individuals who feel the same and work to encourage nature connectivity. There are people who lead forest bathing walks, organize retreats, or plant roadside wildflower patches. And I endorse all these efforts. But, I was brought up short when writing these words when it dawned on me that maybe not everyone is the same as me. Imperfect though that may make these people (wry grin), are there folk for whom being in nature doesn’t have positive benefits? When I expound on the benefits of being outdoors, am I imposing my philosophy and life lessons on others? I feel an internet dive coming on…

After some bumbling around with duckduckgo, I found a review article from The Journal of Happiness Studies in 2020. Who knew there was a Journal of Happiness? Anyway, this review article presented a meta-analysis of studies linking nature and well-being to try to root out their connection and causality. Grouping together and reanalyzing over 20 studies, the authors found a moderate correlation between nature connectivity and autonomy, purpose in life, self-acceptance, vitality, and positive relations with others. But most striking was the correlation between nature connectivity and personal growth. That’s interesting. Feeling part of nature, makes us more capable of self-learning and improvement, which in turn contributes to well-being. And to reiterate, being outside also improves other precursors to well-being, such as our sense of meaning, our view of ourselves, connections to people in our lives and our energy levels. That’s pretty cool. It doesn’t answer the question if everyone is thus positively impacted, but the majority of us are. Folks with phobias around dirt and the outside itself come to mind as counter examples to nature’s positive impacts.

The authors of the review study concluded that people who spend time connected to nature are “more likely to be flourishing and functioning well psychologically”. To try to understand why this is the case, they focused on the nature strengthening of autonomy, one of the prerequisites for functioning well. The authors noted that autonomy strengthening might arise via escape from societal constrictions as well as the sense of freedom we feel when out of doors. The review study also noted that nature connectivity is well known to predict eco-conscious behaviors.

A less academic website, called Taking Charge of Your Health and Well-Being from the University of Wisconsin, listed a myriad of benefits from spending time in nature. These included the restorative, healing, and calming aspects of nature. But more surprising to me were that studies listed on this page that found a striking difference in communities on public housing estates with trees and those without. Not only were the individuals living in the midst of green spaces more connected and supportive of one another, but street crime, domestic violence, and stresses of living in poverty were reduced in these neighborhoods. This reflects studies that find that when we are shown nature nature scenes, the parts of our brain associated with empathy and love lite up, and when we’re shown urban scenes the fear and anxiety parts are triggered. So not not only does nature make us feel better but it also makes us connect better with others and reduces the likelihood of crime.

All together, these musings leave me content to continue exposing the benefits of being in nature. But one aspect of this bothers me. Humans are always awash in nature without having to go outside. What we eat and breath are part of nature. The human being is an animal like the other creatures on the earth which we go outside to delight in. What’s more, even an individual human is composed of cells which are only 43% human, the rest are viruses, bacteria and fungi. This collective is referred to as our microbiome and it contains 100 to 1000 times more genes than the human genes we have. We are clearly already in and of nature, so why is there benefit in going outside? Perhaps the distinction made by academics is critical. When talking about the benefits of nature for human well-being, academics emphasize that it is not nature exposure alone, but rather nature connectivity, that benefits us. Plopping ourselves in a field doesn’t do us any good unless we absorb the experience. Perhaps we’d experience the same improvements to our well-being if we navel gazed and wondered at the marvel of our gut flora? I don’t think so. I suspect that connecting with nature is more nurturing, enriching, and enlightening than connecting with our gut flora, or man-made items, indoors.

For mine own self, I shall nestle comfortably in the research I found. Being outside brings us a whole basket full of goodies from self growth to enhanced connections with other people all the way up to a greater likelihood to engage in nature saving activities. I can now view my time outside as important and doing vital work rather than self-indulgence. Delightful.

See you outside.