November 2025 - Magazine - Page 92
Mi n i str i es
OUT of TIME
How 20 minutes of nature can boost your health
If you've ever felt calmer after a walk in the park or a stroll through the woods, it's not
your imagination - it's biology.
Being outdoors can trigger measurable changes inside your body from lowering stress
hormones, easing blood pressure and even improving your gut health.
You don't have to hike for hours to feel these benefits as maximum impact happens after just 20 minutes, so even a lunchtime walk to the park and a sandwich on a bench a
few times a week can benefit your body and mind.
Here are four ways that being among nature can help improve your health.
1. You unconsciously relax
When you see green trees, smell pine and hear gentle rustling leaves or the sound of
birdsong, your autonomic nervous system - a network of nerves controlling unconscious
processes - responds instantly.
This can happen on a visit to the local park.
"We see changes in the body such as a lowering of blood pressure and heart rate variability so your heart beats slower," says Baroness Kathy Willis, a biodiversity professor at
Oxford University.
A UK study, involving nearly 20,000 people, found that those who spent at least a total
of 120 minutes every week in greenery were significantly more likely to report good
health and higher psychological well-being.
Yasmin Rufo
