Nature Rx: Improve Your Health in the Great Outdoors

Does spending time in the great outdoors support health and wellness? The short answer is a resounding YES! Recharging in nature can help you make tremendous progress toward feeling better, more relaxed, and happier. In this article, you’ll meet a variety of health professionals who incorporate the natural world into their prescriptions for a healthier, more balanced approach to living, as well as some corporate executives who take this advice to heart.

Getting 150 Minutes of Exercise

Dr. Bergina Isbell, a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of Life Led Psychiatry, has been prescribing park prescriptions for over seven years. She uses lifestyle medicine principles that apply movement including 150 minutes of exercise recommended by the American Heart Association and National Academy of Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr. Isbell relates, “Patients following these recommendations do substantially better than patients who don’t follow goals set up in the SMARTER framework. We follow the American Academy of Lifestyle Medicine recommendation to focus on six areas of health: Physical activity, Nutrition, Substance Moderation, Stress Management, Relationship optimization, and Sleep. For each area I work with patients on finding a SMARTER goal. Something that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Repeatable, Time-limited, then they need to Evaluate their progress and Reward themselves for finishing the goal.”

For example, one of Dr. Isbell’s patients wanted to explore new places to walk their dog. They discussed walking in a different local state park or trail each week. Of this patient’s protocol, she writes, “We live in Maryland, so Patapsco Valley State Park is a great place with tons of trails to visit. The goal was to walk 30 minutes once a day in the park but choosing a different trail each week. At the end of the month they evaluated how they did. If they met their goal, they rewarded themselves and their dog with a treat. It was an actual treat for the dog, but for the patient, it was a non-edible reward.”

Early Morning Walks and Grounding

Dr. Thompson Maesaka owns and practices out of a neurologic rehab clinic in Edina, MN, called, The Neural Connection. A neurology specialist and chiropractic doctor, Dr. Maesaka says, “We see a lot of migraine and concussion patients. One of the main goals in both populations is to stabilize the nervous system to reduce symptoms, so grounding is occasionally a tool we use if the person has indicated outdoor activities were previously enjoyable for them.”

Acknowledging that working with neurologic illness comes with its own set of challenges, Dr. Maesaka writes, “Across the board, one of the goals of rehab is to get people comfortable returning to activities they once enjoyed and no longer can due to their illness. In history, before any treatment is administered, we always make it a point to ask if they enjoy outdoor activities. This sets the table to talk about ways in which more outdoor activities can be a way to both speed up rehab and gauge how recovery is progressing.”

The Neural Connection recommends several outdoor activities to most patients, but if they have a history of outdoor activities for leisure, they’ll usually make them a more prominent part of the rehab process. Some of the activities Dr. Maesaka and his team suggest to their patients are listed below. Dr. Maesaka notes:

1) Walking outdoors as the sun comes up.
This has a quick and simple way of setting their circadian clock and allowing for a more gentle transition into sleep at night. We encourage any activity that promotes healthy sleep, and this is one we’ve found great success with.

2) Grounding
We work out of Minnesota, so about half the year this suggestion doesn’t apply. In the warmer months, we recommend grounding because of the way it influences ionic balance within the nervous system. Neuronal stability is one of the main goals of our treatment, and this is a safe, relatively risk-free way to promote that.

3) Nature walks
To improve someone’s resilience to physical activity, outdoor walking is a great place to start. We usually recommend this form of exercise early on in a treatment plan because it’s low intensity, allows the person to absorb sunlight (which is a good enough reason to do it when you live in Minnesota), and is a good test to see if their metabolic capacity is improving.

Nature Immersion, Tree Bathing, Blue Space Exposure

Dr. Jabe Brown, Founder of Melbourne Functional Medicine in Australia, integrates functional medicine and health coaching to improve patient outcomes. He states, “With a background in human nutrition and functional medicine (BHSc, MSc Nut and Fx-Med, AFMCP), I frequently prescribe ‘Nature RX,’ so to speak, as the many benefits of outdoor exposure are well-documented in scientific literature. And I do it with great results.”

What does Dr. Brown prescribe? He recommends a tailored “Nature Rx” for his patients, which usually includes one or a combination of the following:

Nature Immersion: Regular visits to national parks or local green spaces.

Mindful Outdoor Practices: Activities like tree bathing and grounding to foster a deep connection with nature.

Blue Space Exposure: Time spent near water bodies—whether at the beach or a tranquil lake—to enhance restoration and reduce stress.

Why This Prescription Works

Dr. Brown reveals, “Studies have shown that exposure to natural environments, particularly blue spaces (oceans, seas), is linked with reduced psychological distress and improved mental health. For instance, time at the beach has been associated with a higher quality of restorative experiences compared to urban settings.”

Is that all? No, wait, there’s more!

“Natural settings are especially beneficial for children with ADHD, where increased tree cover and outdoor activities have been shown to significantly reduce inattentiveness,” Dr. Brown confides.

“Encouraging outdoor activity not only promotes more vigorous exercise (due to the perception of lower intensity) but also helps prevent vitamin D deficiency through natural sunlight exposure.”

The benefits Dr. Brown’s team has seen firsthand in both adults and children, include:

• Significantly lower stress and cortisol levels
• Improved attention, particularly for children
• Better blood serum vitamin D levels
• Very good restorative experiences compared to urban environments (cities)

Entrepreneur Outdoor Health Tips

Vacationing with family or on your own in the great outdoors helps you rejuvenate while balancing work and leisure pursuits. Busy executives who know the value of time, togetherness, and unplugging from the every day are seeking high-impact activities in natural surroundings that boost health and wellness. Meet a couple of entrepreneurs who prioritize getting away to feel more energetic, restored, and inspired.

Hiking, Camping, and Waterfalls

Adam Bushell, Director and Electrician, at AB Electrical & Communications in Sydney, spends most of his days around technology but never forgets to disconnect and spend time outdoors.

Adam shares, “Nature is the perfect place to reset from long hours of managing projects and teams, and I have a few favorite places and activities that leave me feeling recharged. Spending time in the Blue Mountains is my go-to for a proper reset. The mix of hiking, camping, and waterfalls makes it the perfect place to unwind. Hiking the Grand Canyon Walk in Blackheath is one of my favorites because it gets you deep into the lush scenery with waterfalls and rainforest canopies, but it’s still accessible for a day trip.”

As someone who has been to Blackheath with my family over the Christmas holidays, I know what Adam is talking about! The Blue Mountains is such a beautiful part of Australia, with charming towns down the line in either direction replete with natural wonders only a train ride away using an Opal pass.

What about national parks? Adam goes to those, too. He remarks, “If I’m looking for something more remote, camping at Newnes in Wollemi National Park is unbeatable. There is no phone reception, so it forces a proper break from work, and sitting around the fire with my family under a clear night sky is something I always look forward to,”

The most noticeable change after a few days outdoors for Adam is better sleep and lower stress. Of these benefits, he writes, “Walking trails like the Figure Eight Pools in the Royal National Park or going for a sunrise swim at Wattamolla Beach instantly improve my mood and energy levels. Getting away from constant screens and noise has a way of resetting my focus.”

Silent Retreats

For many people, silence is golden! Jo Hayes, Etiquette Expert, Speech-Language Pathologist, and TV News Reporter, shares, “To balance my professional life, I am supremely intentional about carving out regular times for rest and retreat. Specifically, silent retreats. They. Are. Amazing.”

Where does she find the quiet she seeks? Abbeys, monasteries, and even vacation rentals. Wherever she finds herself, Jo ensures she has access to beautiful natural surroundings, ideally far from cities, to allow for solitude, silence, rest, and refreshment.

Once in the great outdoors, she loves bushwalking, hiking, and running through bush trails, especially in national parks with waterfalls.

Jo declares of the delightful outdoor sounds she hears on such adventures, “The combined sounds of leaves crunching underfoot, no other humans (or only a few), birds singing and chirping, and the sound of distant waterfalls is my bliss-bomb.”

Plus, the endorphin hit of a good workout only adds to her feel-good bliss.

“It’s so calming, refreshing, and restoring for spirit, soul, and body,” Jo writes. “I’m also a big fan of the beach. Growing up in Australia, we vacationed at the beach multiple times a year. We loved it. I still love plunging into the ocean, including in winter. The cold hit of water is exhilarating. I return from my ‘basking in nature’ silent retreats rested, refreshed, and ready for what’s next in my professional life.”

Some of Jo’s vacation destinations in nature include:

• Kings Beach, Sunshine Coast, Australia
• Jamberoo Abbey, near Budderoo National Park, Australia
• Tamborine Mountain, Gold Coast Hinterland, Australia
• Largs, Scotland
• Mariastein Abbey, Metzerlen-Mariastein, Switzerland
• Benedictine Monastery, Atchison, Kansas, USA
• Clear Creek Abbey, Oklahoma, USA

Book Your Next Vacation

Whether blending exercise and movement or just looking to take it all in, you can find a fantastic backdrop for your adventures in the great outdoors on Lake.com.

To see available vacation rentals across the United States and Canada, visit:

lake.com/properties

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute a doctor/patient relationship with any physicians quoted above. If you would like to explore any of the recommendations here, consult your primary care physician before incorporating new activities or making changes to your health.