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Stumble #2: Nature blindness

Solution: engage your senses

Maybe you do get outdoors, but if you have a cellphone attached to your ear or you’re working hard to capture a Pokemon Go Magikarp, you need to rethink your choices for restorative adventures. New research shows measurable physical benefits from fully engaging your senses in the great outdoors: Forest dirt microbes are linked to healthy immune systems, inhaled cypress tree compounds reduce stress hormones and blood pressure and birdsong supports brain neuron health.

To achieve wellness, drop the phone, play in the dirt, breathe in the scents and listen to the birds, says Florence Williams, a journalist who describes this research in her new book, The Nature Fix (W.W. Norton & Company, 2017).

“I crumble leaves in my hand when I walk, even in the city, and take in the scents,” Williams says. “After writing this book, I understand better the power of these substances in the trees. I think one day we will come to appreciate time in nature as an essential part of our health.”