It is believed that this love of nature runs so deep within us that being in and around nature actually has physical as well as psychological benefits.

Some of the specific benefits of the Biophilia Hypothesis are:

The evidence indicates that nature can make positive contributions to our health, help us recover from pre-existing stresses or problems, have an ‘immunising’ effect by protecting us from future stresses, and help us to concentrate and think more clearly.

More specifically, there have even been studies done on how nature helps surgery patients recover:

In a landmark study, published in 1984, Dr. Roger Ulrich showed that patients recovering from gallbladder surgery recovered more quickly and required less pain medication if they had a view of trees outside their windows than if they looked out on a brick wall.

What is even more significant is that some kinds of nature settings are more beneficial than others, and it was shown that some non-natural visual imagery can actually hinder patient recovery:

Visual images can affect health either positively or negatively. At the Bringing Buildings to Life symposium, Ulrich described a 1992 study he was involved with that examined rates of recovery from heart surgery with different wall treatments in the recovery rooms. Rooms had either bare white walls or various types of artwork, including photographs of deep, dark forests, photographs of open landscape vistas, and rectilinear abstract art. Ulrich and his fellow researchers found that the closed forest images resulted in little difference to patients compared with the blank wall, while the open landscape scenes dramatically reduced pain and anxiety. Significantly, the abstract art hindered patient recovery; in fact, according to Ulrich, the negative effect of the abstract art was so significant that the researchers discontinued that aspect of the experiment in the interest of patient health.

Clearly, the environment we are surrounded by has a potentially huge impact on our health.

Another study I looked at found that green exercise, that is exercising in nature, also had significant benefits. The researchers in that study also found that:

self-esteem was not affected by the intensity of the green exercise activities, though it did appear to rise over very long visits. This is an encouraging finding as it implies that all intensities and durations of activity generate significant mental health benefits.

So it doesn’t really matter how long you go for or even what kind of exercise you’re doing, as long as you’re getting out and being active in nature, you are benefiting.

How to use this research in your life

• Bring nature inside - Try to surround yourself with views of nature when you’re indoors. A window, a photograph, a plant (fake or real), or even a realistic painting will all have positive effects.
• Go experience nature - Get outside and do something active. The good news is that it doesn’t really matter what you do or how long you do it for, so you’ve got no excuses!
• Move your life outside - It’s summer, so this is the perfect time to take some of the things you would normally do inside and transform them in to outside activities. Reading, anything computer based (if you’ve got a laptop), eating, or socializing with friends and family are all activities that you can easily do outside.
• Find nature hobbies - Take up some new hobbies that involve nature like gardening, mountain biking, hiking, or even nature photography.

If you’re willing to have some new experiences and you’ve got a good imagination, there are an unlimited number of ways that you can reap the benefits of bringing more natural environments in to your life.