Nature Heals

One of the ways that I try to support your health at Optimize Wellness is by helping you realize the healing power of nature. The reason I like tapping into nature is that it’s free and accessible to all. Once you know what to do, you are empowered. The sun, setting your circadian rhythms, earthing, green plants, trees, and bodies of water all have unique gifts to offer you. I briefly summarize them here.

I try to walk 10,000 steps outside every day, which gets me more than halfway to my goal of spending 3 hours outside.

Sunlight

We evolved with the sun and if by now, we hadn’t figured out a way to utilize the most potent source of energy in our galaxy, something would be amiss. The sun helps us set our circadian rhythms so all our systems run in a coordinated and coherent fashion. It also provides us with infrared light (more than 40% of the sun at all times of the day are infrared rays) that help us boost antioxidant production inside our cells and support the formation of a special biological water called Exclusion Zone (EZ) water that does amazing things for our cells and physiology. Glass blocks infrared, and our new LED lightbulbs lack it. So the best way to get your infrared is from the sun by spending time outside. Good news—infrared penetrates light clothing so if you’re afraid of the sun, you can still benefit from being outside in it, even if you’re covered or in the shade.

And don’t forget about all the other benefits from sunlight in addition to infrared, like UVB to help us make dozens of metabolites of vitamin D (your pill offers you a measly one!) or UVA to help you make more serotonin naturally.

Your dog benefits greatly too when you spend more time outside with her.

Brightness

Your home and indoor work environment, while seemingly well lit, are actual quite dim compared to what nature provides. Indoor lux (a measurement of brightness) is only a couple hundred at best. However, outside, the lux can be in the thousands, even on a cloudy day. A bright sunny day can be 50,000-100,000 lux. “The typical indoor office cubicle provides a worker with artificial light some 100 times lower than midday winter sunlight.” (Your Brain on Nature, 2012). Your body benefits from having bright days and dark nights, so getting outside during the day is imperative for getting the stimulus of brightness that helps your circadian rhythms understand its daytime.

Touching a living tree earths you. Here I’m not actually earthed because I’m not making bare skin contact with the Aspen, but if my hand was on it, I would be.

Earthing

We make our energy currency, ATP, in the electron transport chain of the mitochondria. But guess what? You don’t only get electrons from food. The earth has a higher concentration of electrons than our bodies, so when we touch it with our bare skin, electrons flow into us. Research shows earthing engages your parasympathetic nervous system, reduces inflammation, and improves circulation by ensuring that red bloods cells don’t clump. All your have to do is touch a conductive surface of the earth with your bare skin. Live plants, grass, sand, dirt, stone, brick, and even concrete work. As the weather cools, you can buy specially conductive socks and shoes to continue earthing outside or get tools to help you ground indoors through the electrical system of your house.

Greenery

Spending time in green spaces is more enjoyable and healing than spending time in cityscapes. One of the reasons is that plants reflect infrared. They can’t absorb it from the sun because their water demands would become too high. So instead, they reflect it. This means that when you spend time in greenery, you get two to four times the infrared you would get otherwise being outside in the sun (source). Research even shows benefits from bringing plants indoors, having them on your work desk, or having a window with a view of nature.

Trees and Forest Bathing

One of the most surprising facts I learned in recent years is that there is abundant research to show that time spent around trees improves your immunity. Trees release phytoncides and when we spend time in a forest, we breathe them into our bodies, where they go to work lowering stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and increasing immune cells like natural killer (NK) cells. This has led Japanese researchers to coin the term Forest Bathing, and they actively encourage people in busy cities to spend time in the forest to counter the negative effects of urban living. In fact, the effects of spending time in nature are long lasting. Research found a two night, three day trip in the forest can increase activity of NK cells for up to thirty days! There is also a great benefit to mental health after spending time in a forest.

Water

Humans love natural bodies of water. If I’m ever presented with a hike that crosses a creek, waterfall, or lake, I will always choose that over one devoid of water. Humans prefer water in city and natural scapes, and perceive its presence as more restorative (source). I think it’s because water is so necessary for life and we must retain some instinctive comfort from knowing that it’s nearby.

Remember too that water is grounding, so when you put your feet into a creek, lake, or ocean, you are receiving a continual flow of electrons from the earth. The great news is that this is also true of indoor bathtubs.

Nervous System Decompression

In nature, our attention becomes more diffuse. We aren’t laser focused on our work or phone, but rather we’re absorbing information from all our senses. Our gaze looks around and our vision pulls in more from the periphery, helping our nervous system better know what’s going on around us. This makes us feel safe and calm, as our parasympathetic nervous system engages. A walk in nature is a great way to get out of fight or flight. Everyone is different, but I noticed a big decompression to my nervous system about 45-minutes into a walk in the woods.

Recommendation

My recommendation is that you try to spend 2-3 hours outside every day during daylight hours, even in the winter! The best time to be outside is the morning, to support your circadian rhythms. As we get into the colder months, this can be challenging. But cold exposure is good for you too, so don’t let the temperatures keep you from this abundant source of health! I’m actually writing this blog post outside bundled in a coat and hat in 50-degree temps.

Suggested Reading

The Healing Power of Trees, article in The Nature Conservancy about what happened when they planted 8k trees in a neighborhood, February 2025

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, book by Florence Williams

Your Brain on Nature, book by Eva Selhub and Alan Logan

Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help you Find Health and Happiness, book by Qing Li

See me enjoying nature in this YouTube Short.