Be nurtured by nature

Ishbel Straker is a Consultant Psychiatric Nurse and one of her passions is the mental well-being within ministry. She has been working with Elim developing this provision for nearly three years and it continues to grow

Ishbel is the Founder and CEO of I Straker
Consultants, a mental health service

The pandemic brought many negative things – the impact was and still is significant globally. But it also produced a number of positive changes we made and continue to attempt to ensure are a part of our lives to this day, from working remotely or increasing hybrid working, to appreciating time with our families.

What I have been thinking about more recently is the evidenced impact on our mental health of spending time with nature. We know that this is one of the pillars of wellbeing.

We know that it has such an impact that the 75-day challenge phenomenon uses this element as one of its essential challenges. But are we taking this into consideration when we think about the busy life of a minister who may not consider this a non-negotiable within their own wellbeing and may put other things ahead of this?

In 2021, the research results swept across the world and the Wall Street Journal wrote an article stating that two hours in nature was the new 10,000 steps a day.

It stated that the physical and mental damage inflicted by Covid has doctors, researchers and others racing to tap into nature’s therapeutic effects.

The evidence was further backed up with a prescribed health benefit called ‘spending time in the woods’ – a practice the Japanese call ‘forest bathing’ – and it being strongly linked to lower blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormones, and decreased anxiety, depression and fatigue.

The benefits have been clear for some time, but the pandemic brought this to light. Scientists have repeatedly found that human anti-cancer natural killer cells significantly increase after walks in a forest. In one study published in 2010 in the Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents, the number and activity of killer cells increased in a group of twelve healthy men after two walks, each two hours long, in a one-day trip to a forest park in the Tokyo suburbs.

So did anti-cancer proteins, according to the research led by Qing Li, an associate professor at the Nippon Medical School. Cortisol in the blood and adrenaline in the urine significantly decreased. Researchers found that the effects lasted at least seven days. Time in a forest is linked to decreased inflammation, which has been implicated in chronic disease.

So now you know that it doesn’t just make you feel good, that it’s actually doing something that is physically beneficial, are you prepared to prioritise this? Including the above, spending time in nature gives you a clear head, it reduces anxiety and increases serotonin, your happy hormone. It can also be mindful if you are ensuring you do it without any outside distraction. It is exercise which will potentially counteract some of the calories you are consuming and it will also increase your Vitamin D. Being outside in natural light will align your circadian rhythm which will help you sleep – that in itself supports you to have mood regulation.

So how do you feel about prioritising this? How do you feel about this enabling you to function better within your role and assist you in managing your work-life balance? Consider it and consider why you feel you can’t do it – because based on all the evidence I would say there is no reason not to get outside and enjoy nature.

These are pointers to enable growth and development. They are tough questions to ask but are slow challenges to progress change in oneself, ultimately helping those around you.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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