Nature Connections for Better Work-Life Balance
Welcome to 2024. For many of us, January brings feelings of overwhelm and stress, affecting our personal and work lives. The holidays, which provided great diversions, are behind us. New Year’s resolutions, often made during the merriment of the holiday season, are now clamoring for attention. For those of us living in northern climates, we have the added challenge of the looming frigid winter months which can exacerbate the “Winter Blues” or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD, an appropriate acronym).
Recognizing and understanding how our stress mechanisms operate provides valuable information to consciously make changes and adopt effective strategies to improve our wellbeing. As we evolved over millions of years, our primitive danger detection system, the Limbic System, kept us safe with bursts of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to propel us into life-saving action. Unfortunately, this flight-flight-freeze response, designed for acute and time-limited situations, has difficulty shutting off and now operates continuously, keeping many of us in a chronic state of physiological and emotional stress.
We have an excellent tool to help manage daily stress: our natural environment. While areas such as mountains, lakes and beaches are fantastic options to foster connections with nature, our immediate surroundings offer even more powerful opportunities to develop new routines. Numerous studies conclude even a few minutes mindfully embracing aspects of our natural world creates benefits such as: a decrease in stress hormones, a decrease in blood pressure, an increase in immune function, and an increase in energy, focus and general feelings of wellbeing.
Collecting information through our five senses enables us to easily create new memories and experiences we can use to manage stress. Below are simple and effective techniques to incorporate into our existing daily routines.
Sense of Sight
Intentionally notice the natural elements in your surroundings, especially walking into work, running errands, or even gazing out a window. Look at the shapes and colors of the trees. Glance up at the sky and study the clouds for a moment. While walking the dog, become aware of nature in your neighborhood. Even the snowbanks offer visual benefits! Bring houseplants or pictures of the natural world into your home and workspace and refocus your attention throughout the day on the relaxing sensations you experience.
Sense of Hearing
Take advantage of the 360 degrees of sound available to your ears, enjoying birdsong, wind rustling in the trees, and children playing. Bundle up after dark and listen for the hoot of courting owls in winter. Close your eyes and deepen the experience, triangulating the sound’s location. Place a small water fountain near your workspace or reading nook to create soothing background sounds of a babbling stream.
Sense of Smell
Remember the aromas of fresh cut grass, salty air, and the clean scent after a summer rain shower? Frosty and crisp air can smell invigorating, too! Create new memories to savor using drops of essential oils on cotton balls, sealing them into baggies, and poking a few holes with a toothpick for wafting scents. Peppermint, lavender, balsam, and vanilla are great options to stash in the car, gym bag or drawer for a quick energy reset.
Sense of Touch
Head outside and connect your fingers to the cool, smooth bark of deciduous trees or the rough texture of pines. Make a snowball with your bare hands! The textures of indoor plants provide opportunities to connect with nature in winter. Tuck smooth stones in various pockets to always have an instant nature connection. This technique can bring your mind back to a warm, relaxing day at the beach!
Sense of Taste
Create opportunities to slow down and savor meals, focusing on textures and tastes, feeling gratitude for the farmers who grew each element of the dish. Silence phones and set aside devices while nourishing your body, embracing these mindful moments.
Incorporating simple sensory strategies into your daily routine will help manage stress and improve your overall wellbeing, bringing a better work-life balance. Here is to a wonderful 2024!