Time in nature alone is not enough to improve your mental health.

Spending time in nature will not improve your mental health.

Unless, that is, you NOTICE it.

Latest research shows that spending time in nature alone only accounts for 1% of your mental wellbeing.

The challenge is that when we step outside, we don’t leave our ‘stuff’ behind.

Emails, to-do lists, worries.

Yes we’ve changed location, but our brains are still occupied by the same things.

The key to getting the real mental health benefits that come from spending time in nature…

… is to pause, notice, and engage with it.

I know from experience this can be so hard to do when your brain feels full, but I have also experienced the powerful shift that occurs in my mind and body when I do.

Here’s 3 activities you could try next time you go on a walk to help you engage with your surroundings:

1. Colour walk: Pick a colour (pink is a good one!), and during your walk try to spot it in nature as many times as you can.

2. Theme walk: Ask yourself what you really need right now (eg Clarity, space, strength, patience), and as you walk, look for examples of that resource in nature.

3. Representation walk: As you start your walk look for a natural object that represents how you currently feel (eg a small flower) and ask yourself why you chose it. Next look for an object that represents how you want to feel (eg a mighty oak) and ask yourself why you chose it. Then ask yourself, what one lesson can I learn from *the oak* that will help me today?

Which do you fancy trying??