Two hours a week of immersion in nature are good for the well being and quality of life, regardless of how you pass this time. That proximity to green areas or the sea is a balm for health a known fact, but a very resumed British study in these hours the first to clear up after because of direct contact time with parks, rivers, beaches, mountains, forests and hills these effects become visible.

The findings are based on a British research, the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) conducted on 20,000 people. Participants shared their activity in the previous week and reported on their state of health and personal satisfaction (an indicator of well-being in general). Among those in the previous seven days had not spent time in nature or they had spent little, a quarter reported health problems, and half a state of dissatisfaction. In contrast, only one-seventh of the people who had spent at least two hours in the nature complained of health problems, and only a third said they just met.

Without distinctions. The fact most surprising - according to the authors of the study - that the benefits apply to all types of people: young and old, more or less well-off, living in the countryside and the cities, sporting types or simply "contemplated" of trees and flowers. The same positive effects were reported by those who, for health reasons, he could only sit and enjoy the peace and beauty, without practicing physical activity.

No matter where you spend these 120 minutes, n that are ongoing: the direct contact with nature does well is diluted in small doses, is concentrated in long sessions once or twice a week. Reaching the threshold of two hours no additional benefits beyond those found (but it can still be fun and enjoyable).

What, does well? The reasons for this being injected are not clear: the researchers tried to see if it is necessary to increase physical investigative activities, but the results were not convincing: it seems that there is also gain for those who do not reach the recommended threshold 150 minutes of exercise per week. For some reason, the nature, the discriminating element: perhaps the soothing action that mood, especially if the presence of green combine quiet, high biodiversity and sights to behold.

Moreover, the authors remind us, has long argued that the Japanese practice of forest bathing - literally "bath in the forest" -garantisca various psychophysical benefits (improved mood, stress reduction and heart rate, strengthening of the immune system) , even if carried out in a purely contemplative.

From Focus