This year, I wish us to spend more time in nature and let ourselves be amazed by what it offers.
I spent much of my summer perusing dozens and dozens of scientific articles on the human health benefits of exposure to nature. I was nearing the end of a master’s degree in environment, and was a few months away from starting my practice as a family physician. I was looking, in a way, for a way to combine a sustained commitment to the climate and my new clinical role as “everyone’s doctor”. What I discovered there fascinated me.
The list of nature’s health benefits is long. Very long. I’m even prepared to say that there is no such thing as a pill that works.
After just 15 minutes in nature, our heart rate drops, as do blood levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Regular stays in green and blue spaces near our home tend to increase our overall feeling of well-being. In addition, being in contact with nature encourages regular physical activity, can slow cognitive decline in the oldest among us and is a positive factor in academic success for our little ones. In neighborhoods, the presence of patches of greenery can literally make the difference between life and death.
Giving back the space of being to nature and (re) connecting to it on a more regular basis can bring calm, help us to reconcile with this changing world, and give us the energy necessary to redouble our ambition in our efforts to protect biodiversity and adapt to climate.
And the best part about it? Nature is everywhere.
These are our urban parks, our bodies of water, our mountains and our forests. It’s cross-country skiing on Mount Royal, skating on an icy stream, a walk in a national park, a look at the majestic river.
I am convinced, more than ever, that we would gain enormously by simply taking the time to be in nature, to rest there, to take the opportunity to give ourselves a break from our crazy lifestyles.
Unfortunately, nature is under pressure with real estate, port, industrial development projects, and so on. Too often we have packed the nature of our living environments and our communities – we have distanced it from our own existence. It is time for that to change.
For this New Year, I therefore propose this very simple resolution: spend time in nature, for 20 to 30 minutes, for a total of two to three hours per week.
Like other previous resolutions that I have managed to cover up, I make a commitment today, before you and with these words, to make this contact with nature a pillar of my own physical and mental health. . I invite you to do the same.
And in the name of the health of all of us – in 2022, let’s protect our natural spaces, allow them to flourish and let’s enjoy them with our loved ones, fully and with respect.