Exploring Prime Locations for Bodily and Intellectual Relaxation | Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Awareness Week is currently underway in Aotearoa, New Zealand, with a focus on reconnecting with people and places that lift us up. This year, the team at the organisation is taking the opportunity to reconnect with the country's stunning outdoors, recognising its significant benefits for mental health and well-being.
The Operations Manager, for instance, enjoys spending time with family outdoors in places like Otari-Wilton Bush, Butterfly Creek, and Mt KauKau. Another worker, Ros Wells, a Communications Advisor: Visual, finds outdoor activities great for having meaningful conversations and sharing thoughts with loved ones.
Research supports the team's decision. Beneficial outdoor activities during Mental Health Awareness Week include nature walks, camping, and spending time in natural outdoor environments such as parks, gardens, and beaches. These activities have been shown to reduce stress, lower cortisol levels, relieve anxiety and depression, promote relaxation, and improve mood and mental clarity.
Specifically, nature walks of just 20 minutes have been shown to significantly reduce stress hormone levels and lower risks of mental disorders. Allied health professionals in Australasia widely recommend spending time outdoors for managing mental health conditions including depression and anxiety.
Family camping, with its exposure to fresh air, natural light, and soothing natural sounds, enhances mental well-being. Sauna use in natural outdoor settings is also popular in New Zealand, promoting endorphin release, lowering cortisol, and supporting mental clarity and relaxation.
Spending time by the sea or in green spaces is therapeutic, helping to calm the mind and reduce feelings of worry and sadness.
Plan My Walk can help find a new track near you during Mental Health Awareness Week, providing information about track alerts, weather warnings, and a suggested gear list. The Karori Skyline Walkway, Butterfly Creek in Eastbourne, and Wilton's Bush are among the top picks for outdoor excursions.
For some, any time on the hill is helpful for mental health. The Hunting Partnerships Advisor's family, a mob of keen trampers, has local favorites including Red Rocks, Waiohine Gorge, Holdsworth Lodge, Rangiwahia Hut, and Sunrise Hut.
Ros Wells finds the City to Sea Walkway perfect for the first outdoor excursions after a long wet winter. Rebekah Wilson, a Communications Advisor, prefers to go on her own and without music for her 'wind down' walks, which mentally and physically uplift her.
Wilkies Pools, a worker at the organisation, is a Partnerships Advisor. He finds regular immersion in nature helps refresh his body, mind, and spirit, and boosts his resilience to cope with daily challenges.
Reconnecting outdoors is considered an important aspect of positive mental health for many people, whether for escaping city life, disconnecting from technology, or spending quality time with others. The benefits are clear, and the team at the organisation is embracing them during Mental Health Awareness Week.
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[2] Australian Psychological Society. (2018). The benefits of spending time in nature for mental health and wellbeing. Retrieved from https://www.psychology.org.au/-/media/psychology-australia/documents/publications/fact-sheets/benefits-of-spending-time-in-nature-for-mental-health-and-wellbeing.pdf
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[5] Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420-421.
- During Mental Health Awareness Week, the team at the organization is participating in various outdoor activities to enhance their mental health, such as nature walks, camping, and sauna use in natural settings, as these have been scientifically proven to reduce stress, lower cortisol levels, relieve anxiety and depression, promote relaxation, and improve mood and mental clarity.
- Ros Wells, a Communications Advisor: Visual, appreciates outdoor activities for facilitating meaningful conversations and sharing thoughts with loved ones, a practice that not only supports mental health but is also endorsed by allied health professionals in Australasia as a helpful strategy for managing mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.
