“Researchers say simply sitting and enjoying the peace has mental and physical benefits”
Damian Carrington, reporting for The Guardian, writes that:
“A two-hour ‘dose’ of nature a week significantly boosts health and wellbeing, research suggests, even if you simply sit and enjoy the peace.
The physical and mental health benefits of time spent in parks, woods or the beach are well known, but the new research is the first major study into how long is needed to produce the effect. If confirmed by future research, two hours in nature could join five a day of fruit and veg and 150 minutes of exercise a week as official health advice.
The finding is based on interviews with 20,000 people in England about their activity in the previous week. Of those who spent little or no time in nature, a quarter reported poor health and almost half said they were not satisfied with their life, a standard measure of wellbeing. In contrast, just one-seventh of those who spent at least two hours in nature said their health was poor, while a third were not satisfied with their life …”
You can read more here.
