The ecology of calm: HOW NATURE RESTORES A TIRED MIND

Not everything that restores us comes in a bottle. Sometimes it arrives on the breeze, especially in summer, when the outside world feels more inviting, more generous.

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The scent of honeysuckle, the warmth of sun on skin, the distant sound of birdsong, these ordinary moments offer what modern life so often withholds: space to slow down, exhale, and reset. And this need for nature isn't a luxury or a nice-to-have, it's biology. We're wired for nature, and that pull toward green spaces and fresh air is rooted deep in who we are.

This connection to the natural world, what scientists call biophilia, is part of our blueprint.

Humans didn’t evolve under fluorescent lights or on concrete streets, but in open landscapes, beneath trees, beside rivers. Even if modern life keeps us indoors, our nervous systems haven’t forgotten the quiet recalibration of standing beneath trees and watching light move through leaves.

‘Our brains and bodies evolved in natural environments, surrounded by trees and birds, rivers and mountains,’ says Dr Alison Greenwood, founder of the mental health charity Dose of Nature. ‘So it’s no surprise we thrive when we're outside in nature, and don’t do so well stuck indoors all day, surrounded by TVs and toasters, and separated from the world in which we evolved.’

She explains that our systems respond instinctively to our surroundings. ‘When we're inside, “trapped” in our geometric boxes by walls and ceilings, and surrounded by shapes, sounds, and smells that are unfamiliar to our old reptilian brains, our sympathetic nervous system (our fight/flight response) is activated. However, when we step outside into the natural world, with the freedom of an open sky above us, and surrounded by nature’s familiar sights and sounds, our parasympathetic nervous system (our rest/digest response) is activated, our heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels all reduce, and we feel more relaxed.’