Spending time in nature, whether in your own landscape or other natural areas, has many positive benefits for your physical and mental health.

Taking time to enjoy nature is very beneficial to your health. You could spend time outdoors walking, gardening or just relaxing. You could be in your own landscape or another natural area. Bottom line: spending time in nature makes us both happier and healthier. Health and nature are closely connected.

“There is strong evidence that nature contact can positively affect mental and physical health as well as general well-being,” Nature and Health director Josh Lawler told Washington Trails magazine. Nature and Health is a group of scientists, practitioners and community members at the University of Washington who are exploring the health benefits of spending time in nature.

“For example, studies have found nature experiences to reduce stress, anxiety, ADHD symptoms, obesity, aggression, blood pressure, depression and mortality as well as to improve birth outcomes, sleep, immune function, eyesight and life satisfaction,” Lawler said.

Improving mental health, patient recovery

In one study in Mind, 95 percent of those interviewed said their mood improved after spending time outside. They changed from depressed, stressed and anxious to more calm and balanced, according to the University of Minnesota. Other studies found that time in nature or scenes of nature were associated with a positive mood and psychological wellbeing.

A landmark study in Science magazine by Roger S. Ulrich in 1984 looked at health and nature as it affected patients. It found that patients recovering from gallbladder surgery who looked out at a view of trees had significantly shorter hospital stays, fewer complaints, and took less pain medicine than those who looked out at a brick wall. (The study has been cited more than 6,000 times.)

Harvard naturalist Edward O. Wilson believes nature holds the key to health, according to WebMD. Pulitzer Prize winner Wilson “believes that we have an affinity for nature because we are part of nature and would prefer to look at flowers and grass rather than concrete or steel. As part of the natural world, we are connected to and restored by it.”

Other health benefits to being in nature include exercise, exposure to vitamin D from sunshine, and the capacity of light to counter seasonal depression, said WebMD.

It only takes two hours a week

A British study that found that spending just two hours a week outdoors in green spaces has positive health benefits. Researchers examined data from nearly 20,000 people.

According to The New York Times, the study found that “people who spent two hours a week or more outdoors reported being in better health and having a greater sense of well-being than people who didn’t get out at all.” Spending less time in nature did not have as significant an effect. And spending more time did not offer additional health benefits.

Find nature in your own landscape

Your own landscape can be a wonderful place to enjoy nature. Take time to stroll around your yard or sit on a bench. Perhaps your crocuses are starting to bloom or your shrubs are sprouting their first leaves of the season. Perhaps your sarcococca is fragrant or a hummingbird is buzzing around your trees.

Not only are you awakening your senses, but the meditative state you gain from slowing down to relax and pay attention to nature can be very restorative. You can find both health and nature right in your own yard.

Even spending time with potted plants, whether on a patio or indoors, can be healing and relaxing. Consider planting herbs, flowers or shrubs in containers that are readily accessible.