Health & wellbeing
We can never have enough of nature
-Henery David Thoreau, Writer
Scientific links have been found between improved mental health and spending time outside, the stress that builds in our everyday life lessens with time spent relaxing immersed in nature, giving the break needed to restore attention and happiness. Further links have been drawn between time spent in nature and boosted immunity, meaning nature improves both our mental health and our physical health. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, take the first step out and get discovering.
What can I do?
The outdoors offers respite from our busy schedules. Even when incorporating our daily activities into time spent outside, we still reap the benefits whilst achieving our goals. Three ideas of how to spend more time outdoors are:
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- Walk or cycle instead of driving between errands and places
- Try to replace screen-time with green-time; go outside and spend time doing some reading, drawing or meditating.
- Try turning a meal-time into a picnic and eat your meal outside, whether it be in the park or in your own back yard.
Nature nourishment
- National Parks SA – information on all national parks to visit in SA
- Adelaide Botanic Gardens – a touch of nature in the city, and surroundings
- Walking SA – Find a place to walk or a hiking group to join. You can search by location, length, terrain and more.