The no-exercise way to lower heart disease, diabetes and obesity risk in 20 minutes a day

It’s no secret that stress can ruin your health.

In fact, the anxiety and pressure you feel on a day to day basis could be behind everything from your headaches and fatigue to your trouble sleeping, lack of sex drive and stomach problems.

And, if left unchecked, chronic stress can skyrocket your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

What’s interesting is despite the fact that most of us understand these risks, few of us take the steps necessary to manage our stress since it can seem difficult to overcome or too time-consuming to put in the effort.

Related: How stress flips your body’s disease switch

But a new study has the answer to those issues with an easy way to significantly reduce your stress level as well as the health problems that come with it — in just 20 minutes a day.

Take a nature pill

While previous studies had proven that spending time in nature had the power to lower stress, it was unclear how much time it took, how often you needed to do it and what type of nature experience was beneficial.

After all, there’s a lot to do and a lot of scenery out there…

To lower your stress would you need to hike an unknown trail — or is it okay to simply sit in your own backyard, among trees and shrubbery, for a few hours? Maybe a long weekend wilderness retreat is the way to go. No-one knew for sure.

So, researchers at the University of Michigan set out to discover the most effective prescription for a “nature pill”. In other words, a dose of urban nature experience that might produce measurable stress-lowering effects.

Over an 8-week period, the team asked participants to take a nature pill with a duration of 10 minutes or more, at least 3 times a week. To accurately monitor their stress, the researchers took saliva samples before and after the participants spent time in nature to measure levels of cortisol — the stress hormone.

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And, to make sure that their findings would be easy to replicate for others, the researchers allowed the participants to choose the time of day that was easiest for them, the length of time spent in nature and where to spend it.

There were just a few rules they had to follow:

• Choose a place that “felt” like an interaction with nature — so, the mall or grocery store was out.
• Take the nature pill during daylight — to help ensure a vitamin D boost.
• Don’t do aerobic exercise, use social media or the internet, make phone calls, have a conversation or read, so as not to take away from the natural experience.

Here’s what they found…

Just a twenty-minute nature experience was enough to significantly reduce cortisol levels. But spending just a little more time immersed in a nature experience, say 20 to 30 minutes, either sitting or walking, saw cortisol levels drop at their greatest rate.

After that 30 minutes, the accumulation of benefits appeared to slow down.

Less stress, less disease

If you’re ready to take control of your stress and lower your risk of chronic disease, spending 20 to 30 minutes a day wherever you feel connected to nature could be the key.

It’s easy, relaxing and, now, proven to work. Plus, with no side effects, taking a “nature pill” each day is something you can feel good about — and will make you feel better. Get out there, enjoy and connect with the world around you.

Sources:

1. Stress symptoms: Effects on your body and behavior — Mayo Clinic
2. Just 20 minutes of contact with nature will lower stress hormone levels, reveals new study — Frontiers