Research and local therapists show just how important spending time outdoors is for a person’s well-being.
Have you ever felt your mind clear when taking a walk down a trail after having a bad day? Do fresh air and sunlight make you feel calmer? Perhaps you have walked outside and felt your anxieties wash away — and wondered whether being outdoors was the reason.
There is, in fact, a connection between those good feelings and being surrounded by nature.
A 2019 study cited in Scientific Reports showed a “clear dose-response relationship between time spent in nature per week and reported health and well-being.” Of the nearly 20,000 study participants, those who were outside in nature for at least two hours a week said they experienced significantly greater well-being than those who were outside for less than two hours a week. And according to Simply Psychology, spending time in nature can improve everything from depression, anxiety, and high blood pressure to child development and overall well-being.
It’s an effect that Beth Orns, a licensed clinical social worker and owner of Better Together Mental Health, has seen in her practice. “When we’re outside and moving our bodies, it can help make us feel happier. It can help us think more clearly.”
Even better?
“It doesn’t require any special equipment, it’s free, and it’s accessible to most people,” Orns said.
Another local therapist, Brighton Sanchez, agreed that being outside greatly increases mental well-being. Sanchez, owner of The Oak Center for DBT and Counseling Services and a member of the COMO Business Times 20 Under 40 Class of 2026, specifically works with adolescents who can benefit from dialectical behavior therapy. DBT is a type of therapy tailored to people who struggle with emotional dysregulation as well as suicidal or self-harming thoughts and behaviors.
“When we talk with clients about using skills and coping, oftentimes it does involve some facet of nature and being outside and the calming effect of feeling the air and smelling the natural scent of nature,” said Sanchez.
Let There Be Light
While fresh air is undoubtedly good for the body and soul, there’s another factor that makes time spent outdoors so beneficial: natural light. The link between high-quality sleep and mental health is well-known, and exposure to sunlight is essential to the body’s circadian system (also known as our “internal clock”), which regulates sleep-wake cycles.
Both neuroscientists and sleep clinicians endorse getting sunlight in the early hours of the morning and recommend going outside within the first hour or two of being awake. That’s advice that Orns seconds.
“If people are struggling with sleep in general, going outside in the morning and getting some sunlight, standing outside in the grass for a minute and grounding yourself can be really useful in helping them be able to sleep consistently in the future,” she explained. Getting light early in the morning sets the internal clock earlier, leading early-morning sunseekers to become sleepy at a reasonable hour of the night.
Furthermore, the circadian system governs more than just sleep-wake cycles. It also influences alertness, hormone levels, appetite, and mood. As reported in Simply Psychology, a U.K. health study found that more exposure to light during the daytime and less at night were strongly associated with reduced incidence of depression symptoms among its more than 80,000 participants.
Add Movement
Given the clear advantages, Orns frequently advises her clients to spend time outside as well as exercise. Better Together even offers “walk and talk” therapy, where patients talk with their therapists as they take a walk together. Orns said that form of therapy removes some of the pressure of talking with a therapist, especially for teens, as walking in nature provides an opportunity to focus on the landscape instead of making eye contact.
Walking while talking eliminates some of the awkwardness and stress as our bodies relax and engage in a different way, she added. It’s all about getting a change of scenery, enjoying the fresh air and sunlight, and disconnecting from screens for a while.
“We are so connected to technology,” Orns said, “so taking a break from that is going to be really, really helpful for our mental health in general.”
Orns found this especially true during the COVID pandemic, when she held outdoor therapy sessions to get adolescents outside and away from video calls. Focusing from behind a screen had become increasingly difficult, and she discovered those patients were able to engage more in the therapy process when in person and outdoors on a walk or in a park. Nor was it only her teen patients who benefited — Orns admits it was good for her to get out of the house, too!
Maximize Mindfulness
At The Oak Center, Sanchez holds weekly group sessions where clients focus on, among other things, mindfulness techniques. Mindfulness is a form of meditation where individuals focus their senses to feel what is happening in the world around them, as well as what is happening in their own body. That form of awareness “keeps you grounded and present in the moment,” she said.
For homework between group sessions, each client is tasked with mindfully experiencing positive things in their lives that bring them joy. They are invited to take photos of whatever makes them happy, whether it be an activity, their surroundings, or an object. These photos are then shared with the group the next week in a slideshow.
“We’ve done [this activity] many times over the years now, and one of the things that really stands out to me about that is that a lot of people, when they’re taking pictures of positive moments in their week, it is them outside and in nature,” Sanchez said.
Instead of seeing images of clients playing sports or participating in other outdoor activities, Sanchez observed more photos of living things in nature. In the fall, there are colorful trees, while spring brings images of blooming flowers and new growth. “It’s not necessarily people engaging in activities outside, it is ‘outside’ itself,” Sanchez said. “It is the things that exist outside and only outside, like plants and trees and animals.”
Orns, who specializes in anxiety treatment, also encourages her patients to practice mindfulness activities. Sitting and trying to clear their mind as they focus on the present can be especially challenging for individuals battling anxiety. Doing some sort of movement or activity outdoors can make the mindfulness practice easier, she said.
Going out on a trail without any form of distraction allows you to focus on the environment, getting exercise while paying attention to the sounds, smells, and sights of the natural world. That form of mindfulness can allow you to regulate your body and calm overwhelming thoughts.
“Part of what mindfulness does is it helps us to take a break from the thoughts that just keep running through our brains over and over and over again,” Orns said. “Taking a walk outside is going to be really helpful for giving your brain that break and helping you to be able to come back to things.”
Mindfulness activities can be as simple as talking about things you find soothing. When Sanchez does this with her patients, nature often emerges as a theme. Experiences of seeing fall leaves and colorful spring flowers and smelling fresh rainfall are shared as soothing and grounding experiences for patients when they are feeling distressed, she said.
Healing With Nurse Nature
Sanchez not only recommends experiencing nature to her patients, but it’s also something she practices in her own life: “Nature is very calming, and one of my favorite things to do is go on walks outside and just be outside whenever I can, because it improves my mood. It makes me feel better.”
Orns said the message bears repeating: Getting the health benefits of the outdoors is simple and free. It’s as easy as standing out in your own backyard in the sun. Whether you’re playing sports with friends or simply sitting alone in the shade with a good book, the act of being outdoors can positively impact your mental health.
