Outdoor activities – could they be so good for your health that you’ll soon have them prescribed by your doctor?
‘Nature itself is the best physician’
Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, circa 460-377 BC
When my twins were only a couple of years old and started at pre-school, I was quickly introduced to the Norwegian ‘hike culture’. Every week, with a packed lunch in their backpack, the little ones went on a ‘hike’. It wasn’t always that far, but it was still far enough that having gone on a ‘hike’ became a real experience. In the park, where they sometimes went, the teachers often had to stop eager tourists who wanted to take photographs of the little ones. Especially in rainy weather, when the children were in colourful rainwear, they attracted a lot of attention. The children also learnt the rhyme: ‘Out on a hike, never gripe’ – very Norwegian!
As someone born in Sweden and living in Norway, I feel like a true Scandinavian. Growing up with various kinds of outdoor activity – such as skiing, picking berries or mushrooms, walks in the forest or swimming in the sea off the beautiful west coast of Sweden – has meant a lot to me and created many fond memories. Many people in Scandinavia have a special relationship with our beautiful nature. For each of us Scandinavians, the proximity to nature is unique and creates many different opportunities for peace and zest for life. The unique ‘right of public access’ enables everyone to enjoy the beautiful nature and use it so long as they show respect for the surroundings.When I got married and moved to Norway, outdoor activities became even more important. They have been incredibly deeply rooted in the Norwegian lifestyle for a very long time. A love of the beautiful nature, and not least the cosy, relaxing ‘cabin’ life, was striking. And the term ‘mountain life’ has really taken an important place in my life. And perhaps it is not surprising that Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen was the first to use the word ‘friluftsliv’, meaning outdoor activities, in his book of poems On the Heights, published in 1859.
Outdoor activities play an important part in the Scandinavian lifestyle and are deeply rooted in our tradition. Modern research has shown links with, for example, lower levels of stress hormones, lowered blood pressure and a strengthened immune system. Regularly spending time in nature is an easy way to recover and counteract negative stress, and it can often inspire a healthier, more active lifestyle.
Spending time in nature – a free experience with major health benefits
In 2019, a study was published in the prestigious journal Nature which showed that spending a total of 120 minutes a week outdoors in nature was associated with good health and well-being. It wasn’t so important how the time was divided, i.e. if someone was out for several short periods or a couple of longer periods. No doubt there will be a greater focus on this area in the future and more studies will be adapted to demonstrate a link between health effects and time. The idea that nature is a place for recovery and rest is deeply rooted in many different parts of the world, not least in Scandinavia. Research has previously supported the idea that our stress levels fall when we spend time in calming nature, and that we feel more positive and have fewer negative emotions. Physical health effects can also be seen, such as lowered blood pressure and a strengthened immune system, which is thought to be due to the body’s parasympathetic (calm and rest) nervous system being activated. In a time when our digital lives have assumed an ever-increasing role, nature is becoming an important place for mental recovery, and studies have shown, for example, that our ability to concentrate and our sleep can be improved. Nature creates more restful impressions than urban life, with constant and rarely impulsive impressions, so the brain has an opportunity to recover more easily in a natural environment. Spending time in nature can also involve substantial physical activity and for some it can be part of active exercise and contribute to further positive health effects.
‘The physical and mental benefits of connecting with nature have been very well evidenced by numerous studies. It’s high time that the healthcare sector became aware of that.’
Makena Lohr, a spokeswoman for the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare in Oxford, commenting on its (NHS Forest project)
A nature experience prescribed by the doctor
Could this be the future? I personally believe and hope so. In Scotland’s Shetland Islands, doctors can now prescribe a nature experience to help treat conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stress and mental illness. Patients are given information about different walking paths and different bird and plant species, for example, to enhance the nature experience. Prescriptions for a nature experience are not intended to replace other treatments but rather to complement them. The experience and effect of spending time in nature and the physical activity have led medical authorities in the Shetland Islands to adopt this approach, which they want to use in doctors’ day-to-day contact with patients. More and more researchers are advocating similar proposals, and what is so nice is that there aren’t any direct negative side effects and it doesn’t require expensive equipment. Furthermore, health effects have been seen not only from a ‘genuine’ nature experience, but also from spending time in a park, for example. In addition, the good effects build up gradually after just a couple of minutes. This makes it easier for more and more people to regularly take part in this experience. This has been evident where I live during the coronavirus pandemic: many people have been able to spend more time in nature because they are working from home. Green spaces and parks are therefore an important consideration when planning residential areas and can have positive health benefits for the population if modern research is taken into account.
Japanese ‘forest bathing’ and the exciting phytoncides
Scandinavia is not the only place where nature plays a big role in lifestyle. In Japan, people first began talking about ‘shinrin-yoku’ or ‘forest bathing’ in the 1980s. This can be described as experiencing total immersion in nature and unwinding from the increasingly intense digital lives many people lead. Recently there has been more and more talk about forest bathing. The aim of the authorities was to encourage people to spend more time in nature and thus reduce stress and lifestyle-related illness. The idea was also to persuade people to be out in the forests more and therefore care for and protect them. Japanese forest bathing is about relaxation and using all the senses for total immersion. This might be taking the time to smell the plants, listen to the birds or the wind, taste berries, touch trees and see all the different colours surrounding you. The effects of practising forest bathing were first studied in the 1990s, and interestingly a link was observed between it and a reduction in chronic disease. Dr Qing Li, researcher and chairman of the Japanese Society for Forest Medicine, believes that the phytoncides are one of the causes of the positive health effects. Phytoncides are natural oils found in plants and trees and form a natural part of their defence against various external attacks from bacteria, viruses and fungi. When we inhale these oils as we move in environments in which they are found, we see that levels of stress hormones fall, for example. It has also been observed in humans that these oils can increase the number and level of activity of a type of white blood cell that forms part of our immune system, so-called natural killer cells, or NK cells. Protein that has an anti-cancer function in the cells also increases, and this has led Japanese scientists to study the effects this may have on humans.
My advice:
Find a nature experience that feels good to you and adapt your lifestyle so that you can regularly enjoy the healing properties of nature. You can choose to spend either one longer period in nature or a couple of shorter periods. And remember that the most important thing is to get started, even if it’s just a short walk to begin with. And remember that physical activity is often one part of the nature experience and that the other important part is spending time in nature, being in the now and observing what’s happening. Make this a time without demands to perform and give your brain a break from your mobile phone. And don’t forget parks or green spaces near you.
