2517: How Spending Time With Mother Nature Does Us Good AND Why Happy Feet Are Good For Thinking by Dr. Jenny Brockis

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[00:01:47] How spending time with Mother Nature Does Us Good and Why Happy Feet Are Good for Thinking,

[00:01:53] both by Dr. Jenny Brokus of drjennebrokus.com and I'm Dr. Neal, your host and narrator.

[00:02:00] Hey there, happy Saturday. I hope your weekend is off to a great start and welcome back to

[00:02:05] Optimal Health Daily or OHD, where I act as your narrator of popular health and fitness

[00:02:11] blogs and always provide my commentary at the end. Now we have a bunch of shows covering

[00:02:16] different topics, just search for Optimal Living Daily in your podcast app to find them.

[00:02:22] But for now, let's get right to today's two articles and start optimizing your life.

[00:02:31] How spending time with Mother Nature Does Us Good by Dr. Jenny Brokus of drjennebrokus.com

[00:02:39] As a child growing up on the North Downs in the UK, one of our family rituals was the

[00:02:45] Sunday morning walk with our dad. Mom stayed home, cooking the Sunday roast, dad never learned to

[00:02:51] cook anything beyond baked beans on toast, while dad, my two brothers and I would head out to the

[00:02:57] woods and beyond. I've always valued time in nature. An early morning walk before the rest

[00:03:03] of the world awakes, a stroll along the beach as the waves crash onto the shore,

[00:03:08] there's nothing that gives me greater pleasure than feeling the warmth of the sun on my face,

[00:03:13] a soft breeze, the sounds of bird songs and feeling at one with the world. But as we have moved to live

[00:03:20] in more urbanized centers where work takes precedence over almost everything else,

[00:03:25] the time we spend outside has diminished. The National Human Activity Pattern Survey reports

[00:03:32] that the average American spends 90% of their time awake each day indoors. Why this is a

[00:03:38] problem is because, one, evidence has shown that we all need a minimum of 120 minutes or

[00:03:46] two hours outside each week to maintain our mental well-being. Two, staying inside all the time means

[00:03:53] for some there's less opportunity for exercise. While not all exercise has to be done outdoors,

[00:04:00] those living near blue or green spaces have unsurprisingly been found to be more active

[00:04:06] and more likely to spend up to 30 minutes longer outside. Three, air conditioning or poor ventilation

[00:04:13] means the air quality as reported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency inside

[00:04:18] our homes and offices may not be great. Indoor pollutants from the use of synthetic building

[00:04:24] materials, furnishings, personal care products and household cleaners have increased. This can

[00:04:30] have an adverse effect on health especially for those with respiratory conditions or allergies

[00:04:36] and can be associated with sick building syndrome. And four, we're more exposed to those who may be

[00:04:43] sick and at greater risk of catching the local bug going around. The Psychological Benefits of

[00:04:49] Nature. Simply it reduces stress. The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku which is a gentle stroll

[00:04:57] to reforest engaging all your senses has been practiced for decades. The Dutch go for a

[00:05:03] oatwain, a windy walk to clear the head while other Scandinavians enjoy free-loof slip to be outside

[00:05:10] and in the air enjoying nature whatever the weather. It boosts mood through the enhanced

[00:05:15] release of dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin and lowers cortisol which enhances learning,

[00:05:22] creativity and problem solving. The Health Benefits of Nature. The idea of a nature deficit

[00:05:29] disorder was first coined by Richard Louvre in his book Last Child in the Woods. Alan Logan and

[00:05:36] others see this deficit as the result of our time poor over busy and work prioritized lives

[00:05:42] where self-care is overlooked and we choose to spend more time in a virtual reality instead.

[00:05:48] But if you're looking for a way to stay fitter and healthier, why not start with a regular dose of

[00:05:54] nature? No sign up or membership fees required. It also helps to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety

[00:06:00] and depression. Outside exercises have been shown to have lower BMIs, are less prone to obesity

[00:06:07] and have more energy. Not only that but kids who spend more time outdoors and less time in

[00:06:13] front of screens have less hypermatropia or long sight or myopia short sight. In addition, people

[00:06:22] who spend more time in nature are less at risk of a number of diseases including depression,

[00:06:27] diabetes, ADHD, cardiovascular disease and cancer. And with regards to cancer,

[00:06:34] those that spend more time in nature may be enhancing the strength of their immune system.

[00:06:40] Illinois researcher Kuo explains how exposure to nature switches the body to

[00:06:45] rest and digest rather than the more familiar fight or flight mode.

[00:06:50] Since the pandemic, some have made the choice to move out of cities and find a home in the

[00:06:55] country where life is a little slower, where there are more opportunities to spend more

[00:06:59] time outside in nature and enjoying a quieter life. It would seem to make sense to embrace

[00:07:05] a way of living that supports a stronger immune system, keeps us happier and enables us to truly thrive.

[00:07:16] Why Happy Feet are Good for Thinking by Dr. Jenny Brokis of drjennebrokis.com

[00:07:23] Staying at the top of our game takes time and effort. We invest in activities to stay

[00:07:28] physically well and stretch our mind so as to keep focused, up-to-date and relevant.

[00:07:33] What's easily overlooked is how well we manage our mood. Mood matters because maybe you've noticed

[00:07:39] what happens to your thinking when you're in one of the two extremes, either really,

[00:07:44] really excited and happy or wallowing in a small puddle of gloom and doom and disappointment.

[00:07:51] Mood management takes more than just a bit of mood lighting, though that does help.

[00:07:55] Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is more common in those countries where exposure to

[00:08:01] clear sunny skies is limited. In that instance, our mood takes on the same hue as the sky,

[00:08:08] a bit gray and flat, which is why we often feel so much better when we get out and about on those

[00:08:14] days when the sun is shining. But back to our feet. When we feel good, our physiology changes.

[00:08:20] We stand up tall. We walk with our heads held high and there's a spring in our steps.

[00:08:25] Contrast that to when it's been one of those days where you're tired and fed up

[00:08:30] and desperate to get home to chill out with a half a bottle of wine in front of some brain-dead TV.

[00:08:36] What do you notice then? Maybe you're a little more slouchy, your walk is more of a shuffle than a

[00:08:42] stride and you study the cracks in the pavement rather than the faces around you.

[00:08:48] Our mood affects our physiology and alters our behavior. This then sets up a negative

[00:08:53] feedback loop. As we slop around being grouchy and miserable, we perpetuate that bad mood

[00:08:59] and that restricts our thinking, our ability to learn and remember, problem solve, make good

[00:09:05] decisions and even our ability to get on and to do something. Maybe you've already guessed the

[00:09:11] solution to the problem. Yep, our mood alters our physiology and the reverse is true as well.

[00:09:18] We can use our physiology to alter our mood, doing little more than changing how we walk.

[00:09:24] A German study used biofeedback to manipulate the walking pattern of a group of people

[00:09:29] so they walked either in a happier or more depressed way while being asked to remember

[00:09:34] a series of either negative or positively focused words. What they found was that walking in a

[00:09:39] happy way made people feel happier and they remembered more positive words while those

[00:09:44] who walked in a depressed way remembered more negative words and felt worse.

[00:09:49] Learning to overcome that negative bias that can develop when we feel down

[00:09:53] might be as simple as making a conscious choice to walk in a happier way.

[00:09:57] So chin up, walk happy and don't forget adding a smile adds to the effect so you can quickly restore

[00:10:04] yourself to be in a happier place. High performance thinking includes happy feet.

[00:10:13] You just listened to the posts titled How Spending Time With Mother Nature Does Us Good

[00:10:18] and Why Happy Feet Are Good For Thinking both by Dr. Jenny Brokis of drjennybrokis.com

[00:10:25] I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:10:30] I'll mention something about Dr. Brokis' second article, Why Happy Feet Are Good For Thinking.

[00:10:35] Dr. Brokis mentioned studies that looked at walking patterns and how

[00:10:39] walking in a way where we stand up tall with our chins up can actually make us feel happier.

[00:10:45] One trick you can try to help yourself stand and walk like this more often

[00:10:50] is when you're standing or walking and when your arms are by your side,

[00:10:55] turn your wrists and keep your thumbs pointed straight ahead. Whereas naturally when our

[00:11:01] arms are just hanging at our sides, our thumbs sort of gently point towards our thighs. So what

[00:11:07] we want to do is instead, whether you're standing or walking, deliberately turn your wrists so

[00:11:14] that your thumbs point straight ahead. And what you'll notice is that you'll automatically

[00:11:19] stand taller. And as an added bonus, you'll automatically relax your shoulders. You'll bring

[00:11:25] your shoulders back and down instead of constantly shrugging them, which can lead to chronic neck

[00:11:31] and back pain. So point your thumbs forward, stand tall, bring your shoulders back and down,

[00:11:39] and enjoy the positive mood that results. Alright, that'll do it for today. I hope

[00:11:44] you have a great Saturday if you're listening in real time. And of course,

[00:11:48] I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.