‘Nature Is Free, and the Best Kind of Medicine’: Is This the Perfect Walk for Improving Mental Health?

October 06, 2024 | Source: The Guardian | by Helen Thomson

There’s an old saying that the perfect walk has “something to see, somewhere to pee, and somewhere to get a cup of tea”. While those things do indeed make for a respectable hike, scientists have discovered that aspects of nature will turn a good walk into a great one, in intriguing ways.

Over recent years, it has become apparent that interacting with the great outdoors does wonders for our health, not only because it keeps our bodies physically fit but our brains, too. Last year, a long-term study of 2.3 million people in Wales revealed that the closer you live to nature, the lower your chances of having a mental health condition. “If people interacted with nature every day, it would be a gamechanger in terms of mental health,” says Michele Antonelli, a doctor at the Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale (local health authority) for Reggio Emilia in Italy.

It has been found that certain natural elements – particular flowers, landscapes and scents – can boost the brain more than others. Using these new insights, I scoured the UK to find the ultimate mental health walk. It is around 24km (15 miles), needs no orienteering skills and begins at 8.15am in Kielderhead national nature reserve, three miles from the Scottish border near Kielder, one of the most remote villages in England.

Our hike begins early, not just because of its length, but because bright light first thing in the morning is a key step in ultimate wellbeing. Light affects our circadian rhythms, the internal metronomes that anchor us to our 24-hour day, and studies show that getting a good dose of sunshine in the morning helps us sleep at night.