Humans are part of nature, but most of them have long since decoupled from it in everyday life. Depending on the region and culture, people spend between 80 and 90 percent of their life indoors. The consequences are stress, inner restlessness and tension. One of the remedies is literally on the doorstep: Studies repeatedly show how relaxing time in nature is for people.
In his book “The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self” and a guest article in the “”, the author Michael Easter introduces the 20-5-3 rule, which is supposed to help the physical and mental Restore health and reduce stress.
20 minutes
This is how much time you should spend outdoors in nature three times a week. Research has shown that this period has the greatest effect on lowering the stress hormone cortisol in a city dweller. You don’t necessarily have to hike through a dense forest; a walk in a spacious park or a tree-lined street is enough.
Studies have shown that a 20-minute walk through a botanical garden has a noticeable effect on cognitive processes and memory. But you should really get involved in the walk and not constantly look for distraction in order to achieve the state of “gentle fascination”. This is a mindfulness-like state of the brain, which to a certain extent replenishes the resource stores for creativity and thinking. The scientific studies also showed that anyone who paddles around on their smartphone while out for a walk or constantly receives notifications does not reach this phase of awareness and the effects fizzle out.
5 hours
That is the minimum amount of time that one should spend in semi-wild nature each month. This statement is based on Scandinavian studies that showed that city dwellers felt happier and less stressed the more time they spent in nature. One group of people went for walks in city parks, the other in a kind of national park, i.e. protected areas with largely untouched nature. In Germany these are for example Saxon Switzerland, the Müritz National Park or the Bavarian Forest. The study clearly showed: the wilder the nature, the greater the recreational effect.
The psychological reason behind it: Nature consists of so-called fractals. These are objects in which the whole resembles its components – a tree is made up of branches that in turn have smaller branches and so on. This principle can also be found in mountains, shells or crystals. Cities, on the other hand, are artificial, houses are usually rectangular and flat. At the same time, nature appeals to many senses: You can feel the warm sun on your skin, hear the rustling of the leaves, smell the rotting leaves.
3 days
In the ideal world, one should spend three days a year in nature – away from television, internet and telephone. It doesn’t matter whether you sleep in a hut with friends or camp alone in a tent in the middle of nature away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In this phase, the brain enters a kind of flow state, in which the reset button is pressed, so to speak. Research showed that even weeks later, such an experience had a positive effect on problem-solving skills and overall satisfaction.
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