How going outside in nature could ease stress

(Aging Untold) — There is something about nature that makes us feel instantly connected.

For the Tomlinson family, spending time outdoors is a daily routine.

“Nature makes me feel happy and excited when I always get around it because it makes me feel like I’m at home,” said Gibbs Tomlinson, who enjoys spending time in nature.

“See the sun come through the trees and being able to put a shadow on a leaf, the fish glistening in the creek, and it just makes you feel wholesome,” Brent Tomlinson, Gibbs’ father, said.

Reconnecting with the outdoors

Research shows nature could ease symptoms of depression, stress and ADHD.

Aging Untold expert and gerontologist “Sam” Cradduck said human history was not built around pavement or concrete.

“Human history wasn’t built in a concrete jungle. It wasn’t built around pavement. It was built around nature. And we are natural beings that need to connect back to fresh air, to the earth, to having nature around us,” Cradduck said.

Cradduck said being outside is one of the most powerful treatments for what she described as the “mental exhaustion” of the digital age.

“We’re living in a world that’s constantly throwing information our way - we’re in information overload, and we’re not getting back to just the basics and the roots of society, you know, grounding getting in there and just being part of the community that you live in, not having everything thrown at you all the time,” Cradduck said.

Benefits without a hike

Cradduck said people do not need extensive access to wilderness to benefit from nature.

“Not everybody has the opportunity to walk over to Central Park in the middle of their city. Not everybody has the opportunity to go for a walk in nature and go for a hike in the mountains, but everybody has an opportunity to go outside, get that sunlight, let your rhythms reset, let your body understand that there is a great outdoors. We know how valuable it is for our own health,” Cradduck said.