Natural Health Service: Physical activity in green spaces
Each week over the summer holidays I’ve been sharing tips and strategies to look after your own wellbeing, based on other parent carers’ lived experience. With the school term starting soon we can continue to nurture ourselves and in this blog I look at one of the simplest, and most powerful, ways of doing this.
Through the pandemic we have gained a greater appreciation of connecting with nature. As everyone who follows me on social media knows, I am always advocating the benefits.
Studies show the importance of being in green (e.g. park or woodland) and blue (i.e. near water) spaces for our wellbeing. A new study suggests that even having a potted plant in a small garden or indoors can have a positive influence. Over a period of one year there was a 6% drop in peoples’ stress levels which is the equivalent to the long-term impact of eight weekly mindfulness sessions.
Nature causes us to be in the moment as well as the healthy brain waves caused by fractal patterns and the panoramic gaze. Sunlight boosts our Vitamin D levels and circadian rhythms which helps you sleep.
Fractals occur frequently in nature and once you’ve started noticing them you see them everywhere. If you look closely at the florets of a cauliflower or the branches of a fern, you’ll see that they’re both made up of the same basic shape repeating itself over and over again, but at smaller and smaller scales.
The same happens inside your own body: for example, the structure of your lungs is fractal, and the blood vessels in your circulatory system. Fractals feature in repeating artworks of Escher and Jackson Pollock.
We also know that physical activities and moving your body is vital for wellbeing. It may feel counterintuitive but exercising our bodies can calm our mind. Exercise can include walking the dog, jogging and yoga. It may be playing football with your child or doing push ups while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil. Finding something that is personalised to your situation (e.g. see wheelchair exercises) will help you incorporate it into your daily life.
Doing these activities AND being in nature is a double dose of wellbeing.
Being outdoors also offers benefits for your child and moments of connection for the whole family. Noticing the changing seasons, the abundance of insect life in the summer and changing weather and shadows. We realise that things are in transition, as are we.
The start of a new academic year offers a time for reflection.
Identify what you want to take forward including what you’ve learnt from lockdown and from the holidays. This may include recognising the need for quiet time, having found a favourite outdoor place to visit or simply saying no to unnecessary things. Acknowledging what’s important to you and your family. And what really matters.
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My book, Day by Day: Emotional Wellbeing in Parents of Disabled Children is available here: https://amzn.to/3k1NReK