How can a Daily Nature Walk help you Feel Better?
Exercise is good for your body. You already know this information. But did you know that nature walk can also boost your mood, improve your sleep, and help you cope with anxiety, boredom, depression and other mental problems? Read on to discover the benefits of this simple activity on your mental health.
Importance of a Nature Walk
Walking helps boost your mood. It increases blood flow and blood circulation to the brain and body. It also has a positive effect on your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is your central nervous response system. This is good because the HPA axis is responsible for regulating your stress response. When you exercise by walking, you calm your nerves, which can make you feel less stressed.
What are some Benefits?
Better sleep
Millions of people have difficulty sleeping. They rely on various types of sleeping aids such as medications, herbs, and supplements. In fact, one of the best ways to get good sleep every night is to walk regularly in nature. Walking is a physical activity, but it also engages the mind, allowing you to be both physically and mentally ready for some snooze time come night time.
Fresh Focus
People who take a break from work-related activities to get a brisk outdoor walk have been found to have improved concentration, better focus at work, and feel re-energized. Breathing in the fresh air and getting more blood to the brain during physical activity are more likely responsible for the enhanced rejuvenation of the brain.
Improved mood
Walking can help you feel better from the inside. A multitude of studies have demonstrated its positive impact on anxiety, depression, and negative mood. It can also boost self-esteem and reduce symptoms of social withdrawal.
Establishes Peace and Happiness
If you’ve had a heated argument with someone or suffering from an overly hectic schedule, you can be confident that the tension you’re feeling from these challenges will be greatly reduced. Walking distracts the mood and rebalances the peace within our mind and body. A great tip you can adopt is to allow your imagination and positive thoughts to flow in to bring out the calm and peace in body and mind while walking.
Tips to get you started:
Make walking enjoyable
If you don’t like walking by yourself, you can ask a relative, neighbor or a friend to join you. If a group energizes you, consider joining a walking group or a health club. You can make walking even more enjoyable and less boring by listening to your favorite music list.
Tune in to your senses while out on a walk
Mid-way through a walk, find somewhere quiet to sit for a minute, and turn your focus on your senses. Close your eyes, breathe through your nose and ask yourself: what can I smell? How are my senses engaged? What is nature making me feel? Concentrate on the feelings and associations that come up.
Don’t be too hard on yourself
When you find yourself forgetting to go on your daily walks from time to time or miss a day, don’t give up. Just get back on track by reminding yourself of how good you feel when you include physical activity in your daily routine.
Praise Yourself
Yes, one of the best ways to feeling better is to actually acknowledge your achievements, even the smallest ones. After a walk, take a few seconds to tell yourself what a great job you’ve done. Allow your mind to register those good feelings associated with walking so the next time you think about it, your mind will automatically link walking to positive feelings in your body. My clients learn through their therapy journey with me many self-care tips. One essential tool is to recognize your accomplishments by taking a second to really think about the feeling you feel in your body, allowing the mind to anchor those feelings by forming new neural pathways and beneficial circuits between your body and mind. A journey with me using Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) and behavior modification is great in teaching you all these tools and much more.
If you are looking to improve your overall health and wellness, don’t hesitate to contact me, Dr. Carla Kesrouani, and benefit from a free consultation!
