Mental Health

Breathe In Mindfulness, Breathe Out Stress: The Mental Health Benefits of Nature

Published June 13, 2025

Summer invites us outside with longer days, warmer weather, blooming green spaces and loads of natural beauty around New Hampshire. Spending time in nature offers profound mental health benefits – and you don’t need to hike a mountain to feel them – but you can!

4 Reasons to Spend Time in Nature

1. Reduce Stress and Anxiety

Being in natural settings helps lower cortisol (your stress hormone) and promotes a sense of calm. Even 20 minutes in a park or your backyard can:

• Lower blood pressure
• Slow heart rate
• Reduce anxious thoughts

Action step: Try a walking meditation through a quiet green space to unwind.

2. Boost Mood and Fight Depression

Sunlight triggers serotonin production, the brain chemical linked to mood and happiness. Green scenery and open skies can also reduce rumination (repetitive negative thinking). Try incorporating these natural mood boosters into your day and make note of how you feel after.

• Start your day with a short walk outside – this can boost mental clarity and contribute to your physical health.
• Take lunch breaks under a tree instead of at your desk.

Action step: Spend time in your garden or try potting a few plants for a different sense of purpose.

3. Improve Focus and Mental Clarity

Spending time in nature has been shown to improve attention span and reduce mental fatigue. This is especially helpful if you:

• Work at a screen all day
• Feel mentally “foggy” or drained

Action step: Try the “20-5-3 rule”: 20 minutes in nature daily, 5 hours weekly, and 3 days monthly off-grid or immersed in green spaces.

4. Strengthen Connection and Mindfulness

Nature pulls us out of our heads and into the moment. Whether walking alone or enjoying the outdoors with others, it helps us reconnect – with ourselves, with people, and with the world around us. Practicing regular mindfulness has benefits that include:

• Improved focus and attention
• Cultivation of emotional regulation
• Enhanced self-awareness
• Better quality of sleep

Action step: Next time you go for a walk – leave your phone at home (or keep it in a bag or pocket) and take note of five things you see, hear or smell while outside.

Nature is one of the simplest, most accessible mental health tools we have. We have wonderful access to lakes, mountains, beaches and trails in New Hampshire, but you don’t even have to go further than your backyard or your neighborhood to find a sense of relief from the everyday stresses we face. Whether it’s a hike, a picnic, or just sitting under a tree – every minute in nature counts.

Earn cash for mindfulness:

Earn Well-Being incentives for putting your mindfulness in nature into practice. There is still time this month to self-report healthy events before the plan year ends on June 30th. Here are a few suggestions:

• Set a goal of waking and walking for 20 minutes 3 times in a week – self report when you check off your third day.
• Go for evening post-dinner walks and keep a journal of 5 things you see, smell or hear on each walk, self-report after 10 journal entries.
• Grab your yoga mat or a blanket and head outside for a yoga or meditation session. Self report when you’ve completed 5 outdoor sessions. Need help self-reporting healthy event? Check out this flyer to learn more.

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