Reading Time: 13 minutes Escape the Chaos: 22 Soothing Activities in Nature to Help You Unwind
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How are you feeling? As a parent of 3 little kids, I know how hectic and overwhelming modern life can be. I am not alone. We all know how busy life is.
But what if I told you there’s a surprisingly simple way to boost your mental well-being naturally? What if I said there is a prescription for relaxation, and it’s free with no side effects? It’s to go outside and do something.
By reconnecting with nature through outdoor activities, you can actually reduce stress, lift your mood, and find much-needed relief from anxiety and depression.
It’s true! Spending at least 120 minutes a week outside surrounded by green spaces, fresh air, and natural scenery provides our minds and bodies with real, scientifically proven benefits.
That’s why I put together this list of things to do outside. Some require very little effort. Others require some planning and a little more time. These are activities we do with our family.
Let us know if you work any of these into your life, what is stopping you from doing any of them, or any that we missed.
Table of Contents
The Revitalizing Power of Nature
Think about how refreshed you feel after going for a hike in the woods or just relaxing in a park for an hour. There’s no denying that the calming, restorative feeling nature gives us. But the mental health benefits run even deeper:
Stress Reduction
When we’re surrounded by nature, our bodies go into a more relaxed state. Levels of the stress hormone cortisol actually decrease while blood pressure drops, helping us feel more tranquil and at ease.
Mood Boost
Exposure to nature triggers the release of serotonin and dopamine, our brain’s built-in mood elevators. Hello, happiness! Feeling blue or unmotivated? A dose of outdoor time can lift your spirits.
Anxiety and Depression Relief
There’s strong evidence that immersing ourselves in green, natural settings can relieve symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression. The calming, meditative effects of nature allow our minds to reset from persistent worries.
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So if you’re dealing with mental health issues like high stress, low moods, anxiety or depression, adding more outdoor activities to your routine can provide real, lasting relief.
Now let’s explore these 22 amazing outdoor activities!
1. Hiking Trails
Lacing up your boots and hitting a nature trail is one of the best ways to de-stress while getting exercise. As you walk, your brain floods with mood-boosting endorphins. The sights, sounds and smells of the outdoors relax your mind.
Hiking offers an ideal way to de-stress, regardless of if you crave a challenging uphill climb or a leisurely flat path. With each step along the trail, you can feel the tensions of daily life melting away.
Take your time to fully embrace the healing power of crisp fresh air filling your lungs.
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2. Garden Therapy
Getting your hands dirty in the garden has a grounding, therapeutic quality. There’s something special about watching seeds you’ve planted flourish into living, growing things under your care. The physical workout is a bonus mood-lifter.
Gardening encourages mindfulness while providing a sense of purpose. A recent study even found that gardening can significantly reduce anxiety levels among adults, suggesting it can be a valuable tool for promoting mental well-being.
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3. Biking
Exploring new paths and scenery on two wheels combines exhilarating exercise with the calming influence of nature. Cycling clears your head and improves mental health. Just remember your helmet!
While coasting along on your bike, you’ll experience an unbeatable runner’s high. The natural endorphin rush mingles with soothing vistas of woods, meadows or waterside landscapes rolling by.
For an added dose of stress-busting fun, go off-roading on mountain bike trails!
4. Outdoor Yoga/Meditation
Doing yoga poses or mindful meditation outside allows you to breathe in the healing benefits of fresh air, peaceful sounds and natural surroundings as you practice. Your focus and mood will soar.
There’s something powerfully grounding about flowing through your asanas while planted on the grass, soaking up the sun’s warmth.
Or try meditating while nestled under a canopy of trees, quieting your restless mind to the soothing soundtrack of rustling leaves and birdsong.
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5. Rock Climbing
This adventurous activity provides an amazing workout for the body and mind. As you problem-solve your way up the rock face, your confidence and self-esteem climb too while anxiety takes a hike.
When scaling a natural rock formation or an indoor climbing wall, the thrill of conquering each new route boosts endorphins and concentration skills. Embrace the mental challenge and trust your abilities; the feeling of accomplishment is unbeatable.
6. Punting
Gliding in a flat-bottomed boat along a scenic river or lake is the definition of tranquility. As you slowly push the punt along with a pole, your stress levels can’t help but drop. Pure bliss.
This traditional mode of boating provides a refreshingly tech-free escape from life’s hectic pace.
With each gentle push of the punt pole, you’ll ease into a state of Zen-like calm surrounded by picturesque waters and lush greenery. Breathe it all in.
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7. Wildlife Watching
Birdwatching, whale watching, and observing animals in their natural habitats can fill you with a sense of wonder. It’s proven to reduce stress, depression and anxiety while boosting overall well-being.
When you catch sight of a soaring hawk, meandering moose or acrobatic school of dolphins, you can’t help but be awestruck by nature’s majesty.
These inspiring encounters encourage presence and put daily pressures into perspective.
Related: DIY Hummingbird Food Recipe: How To Make Hummingbird Food (Pictures)
8. Campfire Time
There’s just something psychologically soothing about a crackling campfire, don’t you think? Relaxing with friends or family around a warm blaze creates treasured memories and boosts social connections.
The mesmerizing, ever-shifting flames work like a natural sedative for jangled nerves. Listen to the comforting pops and crackles while swapping stories and laughter with loved ones. Toasting marshmallows for s’mores is basically required!
9. Outdoor Art
Flexing your creative side outdoors reduces stress and increases self-esteem, be it painting landscapes, journaling in a meadow, or capturing stellar nature shots.
Being surrounded by nature’s vibrant colors, textures and compositions provides endless inspiration for artists and dabblers alike. Immerse yourself in the process of gliding a brush across canvas. In those mindful moments, you’ll find tranquility.
10. Swimming
Being in bodies of water like lakes, oceans, pools, and waterparks offers a refreshing experience for the body and mind. Swimming provides a full-body workout to boost endorphins and mood.
As you glide through cool waters, your mind quiets and tensions fade away. Each stroke awakens muscle groups and releases stress from your body. Savor the refreshing sensation of being surrounded by this elemental force of nature.
11. Kayaking
Gliding peacefully across calm waters provides unbeatable stress relief and a chance to immerse yourself in nature’s beauty. Kayaking combines exercise, mindfulness and outdoor therapy.
With each dip of your paddle, you’ll ease into a Zen-like state as ripples lap against your kayak. Take in the dance of sunlight on the water’s surface while wildlife sightings provide delightful surprises.
You may even experience a coveted “runner’s high” from the physical exertion.
12. Geocaching
Part treasure hunt, part nature adventure, this activity sends you hiking and exploring to find hidden caches using GPS coordinates. It’s an invigorating mental challenge amidst restorative outdoor settings.
Geocaching offers an irresistible dose of mystery and excitement, be it in a city park or remote wilderness area. As you decode clues to seek out cleverly-camouflaged geocache containers off the beaten path, your senses become keenly tuned in to your surroundings.
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13. Stargazing
On a clear night, grab a cozy blanket and head out to gaze at the infinite, sparkling universe above you. Few things are as awe-inspiring and centering for the soul.
Lose yourself in the breathtaking mystery of the cosmos by stargazing away from light pollution. The humbling, profound beauty of the Milky Way stretching across the night sky has a grounding effect.
You don’t even need to buy an expensive telescope. We just borrow a telescope from our library whenever we want one. If your library doesn’t offer telescopes, you can still download stargazing apps on your phone. Our kids love using our phones to identify the planets.
As you drink in the ancient light of distant galaxies, life’s problems will feel deliciously insignificant.
14. Nature Photography
Capturing the exquisite details and grand vistas of nature’s handiwork through your camera lens provides a mindful, mood-lifting creative outlet. Each frame becomes a memory to savor.
To get the perfect shot, you’ll need to slow down, observe your surroundings carefully and appreciate each fleeting moment. Rather than passive observation, nature photography encourages total presence.
Experiment with new angles and perspectives for a deeper immersion in your environment.
15. Fishing
Fly fishing on a rushing stream or pier fishing by the ocean, this timeless pastime combines patience, skill, and tremendous stress relief as you become fully present in nature.
There’s something incredibly grounding about standing in the midst of a lush riverbed or brackish coastline, lure poised, as you synchronize your breathing with the rhythm of the waters.
With luck, you’ll get a bracing adrenaline rush from a fish taking the bait. Even if not, you’ve achieved blissful immersion.
16. Horseback Riding
Exploring woodsy trails while bonding with your equine companion can be incredibly therapeutic and mood-boosting. The rhythmic motion naturally calms the mind.
From a horse’s saddle, you’ll gain a new vantage point to take in nature’s landscapes. The gentle swaying rocking triggers a hypnotic, meditative state. As you establish a trusting connection with the horse, riding also instills confidence and peace of mind.
17. Camping
Leave the hustle and bustle behind and immerse yourself in nature by camping under the stars. A few days unplugged amidst beautiful scenery does wonders for your mental health and relationships.
After hiking to your campsite with gear on your back, you’ll earn a wonderful feeling of self-reliance. Fall asleep to the calming symphony of crickets and wind rustling through trees.
In the morning, you’ll awake with a renewed sense of clarity and childlike wonder for the great outdoors.
18. Foraging
This age-old practice of searching for edible plants, berries, mushrooms and more in nature sharpens your focus while providing satisfaction. Finding free, fresh wild foods is pretty rewarding!
With the help of a good field guide, foraging attunes you to seasonally available wild edibles growing all around. Look for a wild strawberry patch or oyster mushrooms at the base of a tree trunk.
Hunting for morel mushrooms has always been special to me. I used to mushroom hunt with my mom and her dad. Now that they have passed I carry on the tradition with my own little kids.
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19. Relaxing in a Hammock
There’s nothing quite as relaxing as getting cozy in a hammock with a good book surrounded by nature. The gentle swaying motion, along with the peaceful sounds of the outdoors like rustling leaves and singing birds, creates the perfect setting to lose yourself in another world between the pages.
Fully immersed in your story’s narrative, your mind can completely escape. The dappled sunlight filtering through the trees and the occasional breeze sets a tranquil scene that allows you to truly unwind.
20. Skipping Rocks
This simple childhood activity of skimming flat rocks across the surface of a lake, pond or stream is a wonderful way to calm your mind while connecting with nature’s water sources.
As you concentrate on getting each toss just right to make the rock skip across the glassy water, your focus narrows blissfully to that present moment.
The repetitive gentle plunks and ripples can actually become strangely meditative as you practice perfecting your rock skipping technique. It’s an uncomplicated pleasure, but also allows you to zone in fully on the straightforward joy of making ripples across the water.
I have young kids. When our house gets tense, I just bring them to a park a few miles from us and let them skip rocks. It tends to change the moods nicely.
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21. Cooking Outdoors
Cooking and eating meals outdoors in nature has an incredibly grounding effect. Preparing food over a campfire or portable grill, engaging all your senses while moving at nature’s unhurried pace, nurtures patience and presence.
Each part of the process provides an escape from the frantic pace of daily life. Savoring the delicious aromas wafting through the fresh air reconnects you with the primal fulfillment of providing nourishment in the outdoors.
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22. Trail Running
For those craving an invigorating physical and mental workout, trail running delivers a powerful way to combine exercise with nature’s rejuvenating benefits. Running on dirt paths gets your blood pumping for an uplifting rush of endorphins.
Every bend in the winding trail reveals new sights, smells and scenery to motivate you onward. You can tune into the rhythm of your breathing in sync with the crunching path underfoot.
With no concrete or city clamor to distract you, trail running creates the perfect setting for moving meditation and an incredible runner’s high.
Related: Beginner Runner Guide: Best Tips For New Runners
Conclusion: Go Outside!
In our hectic, device-driven modern world, it’s all too easy to become disconnected from nature’s restorative powers. But as you’ve discovered, spending quality time outdoors is one of the most effective ways to recharge your mental health and find balance.
So get out there! Take a hike, go stargazing, try birdwatching or even foraging. Remember, you don’t need to be an adventure junkie to enjoy nature’s mood-boosting benefits.
Even small doses of outdoor time reduce stress, lift your spirits and provide a sense of much-needed peace and grounding.
Your mental wellbeing is precious. By rediscovering nature through fun activities, you’re not just reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression, you’re reconnecting with the calming sights, sounds and sensations that help all humans thrive.
Why not start today by stepping outside for some soul-nourishing outdoor time? Your naturally happier, healthier self will thank you.
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