Small amounts of time in nature help lift depression

Looking over the wetlands at sunset

Researchers at the University of Exeter found that 88% of people experienced an improvement in their mood after only a few minutes of qalking outdoors in a park or by the sea (compared with walking in a shopping centre). "Being in nature dampens down spikes in the stress hormone cortisol, which contributes to depression" (Jules Pretty, professor of environment and society at the university who carried out the research). "such an environment has an immediate relaxing effect that's strongest in the first five minutes. Repeated daily, it could help people recover from mild depression".