Melissa Deally:

Welcome back to another edition of health hackers, I continue talking about the wonderful healing effects of nature. And I actually chose to wear this shirt today. Hopefully you can see it, it says, healthy by nature. And so far, I've been talking about the benefits of nature on your physical health. And today, I want to turn and talk about the benefits of nature to your mental health. Because when we spend time in nature, we're getting the benefits of sunlight on our skin into our eyes. And research shows that sunlight can help fend off feelings of depression. And there are many people who struggle in wintertime with sad, which is the sunlight affective disorder, because when they're not getting enough sunlight, they start to feel those symptoms of depression. And so there is that correlation between boosting our mood and sunlight. The other thing too, is when we spend time in nature, we're leaving behind our phones, our devices, and those can very often be negatively impacting our mental health, there is a direct correlation between the amount of time spent on social media and depression, because of course, everyone is posting all about the great things going on in their life. And if your life isn't feeling that great, right now, it's easy for you to feel like even worse about the state of your life, even though other people have problems in their lives, too. They just don't get posted on social media, and therefore you think their lives are all fabulous, and yours isn't. And that can put us down that path of depression or worse in our depression. And the other thing is, with all of these design devices, we're always in a gogogo state, and that can increase anxiety and people, we're not getting a break from it. And when we choose to go out in nature, we're very often off the beaten track, there may be no Wi Fi service, etc. And you may have your phone with you for emergency uses, and are simply to take photos. And you get to be in awe of mother nature and to recognize that the beauty of Mother Nature and everything you look at when you stop and slow down and take it in. And all of that helps to boost your mental health, reduce feelings of anxiety, reduce feelings of depression, and potentially increased feelings of enjoy and wonderment and all and all of those wonderful feelings that we had as a child that maybe we don't get that often as an adult anymore. And so I encourage you to go out, explore nature, find spots that you love, that make you feel good, that just leave you in those feelings of all wonderment, happiness, joy, peace, those higher vibrational frequencies that are so so good for your mental health and your overall health. So get out there and enjoy all that mother nature has to offer.