Written by Thu Tran, MD,FACOG
December 10, 2025
Winter weather has descended on the Washington area. Many of us may move our exercise routines indoors and manage to perform aerobic exercises within a small space. However, being outdoors has additional benefits because exposure to nature has been found to lower our stress level and is a powerful tool to manage mental illnesses.
Dr. Marc Berman, a social scientist at the University of Chicago, has delved into the connection between nature and stress relief. In a recent interview on NPR’s Hidden Brain Podcast, Dr. Berman explained this wonderful effect, the healing power that nature can bring to us, which has been shown scientifically through various studies.
One of these studies was conducted in 1980, on patients recovering in a hospital in Philadelphia after having had gallbladder surgery. Those who were assigned to rooms with windows facing a wall healed more slowly, were hospitalized longer and requested more pain medication than matched controls whose rooms had a view of nature. Another study was one from 2019 in which veterans were taught surfing. Being in nature doing a healthy activity decreased their level of depression.
Dr. Berman himself, as a graduate student at the University of Michigan, went “forest bathing” in a nearby park whenever feeling stressed, and even “befriended” an oak tree to which he talked. His stress level was lowered as he realized how enormous nature was as compared to his problem.
When facing a stressful situation, we might feel like standing in the middle of an enormous waterfall cascading upon us. It is nature that reminds us of the true enormity of the world and how transient our problems might become if we can look calmly at them, assigning them a different level of importance. A problem is a temporary fraction of our whole existence; nature can gently teach us that lesson.
The Japanese have used this strategy of “forest bathing,” or “shinrin-yoku”, for years, and recognized its benefits in stress management. Studies on this “forest bathing” strategy show how walking mindfully in the woods can lower our blood pressure, boost our immune system, improve our memory, attention and wellbeing, and improve our sleep issues, with the effect lasting long into the following days after a walk.
Dr. Berman explained how “involuntary attention,” as our eyes wander on a trail in nature, can relax our mind and lower our stress more, as compared to “voluntary attention,” like a stressful walk in an urban area where we have to watch out for cars, where our eyes and mind are overstimulated by sights of street signs, heavy traffic, multiple shops and many people.
Dr. Berman acknowledged that there’s social inequality in terms of the availability for exposure to nature, with the poor often living in neighborhoods far from any nature setting. The lack of transportation might worsen this problem of access. Those who live in rural areas or near parks are more fortunate in having better access to nature than residents in inner cities. Hopefully, our society will fund infrastructure projects that offer opportunities to create green spaces in urban areas, or fund travel to areas of nature such as the Chesapeake Bay or local parks for stress reduction.
Residents in areas with poor access to nature can also use alternatives such as having posters of nature in their apartment, caring for flower or garden boxes on their patio, balcony or windowsill, and focusing on trees and wildlife in their neighborhoods whenever they can. Some moments of living in nature can bring great benefits to our daily life… even in cold weather!
For a detailed interview of Dr. Mark Berman, I highly recommend listening to this Hidden Brain Podcast. I hope you will take his lessons to heart and explore nature whenever you can. Like our Sunday walking group in winter, put on your mittens, hats, heavy coats and boots to take a walk. Each season has different wonders. In each, may you find gratitude in nature, and realize that it can anchor us in this turbulent world.
Editor’s Note: Thanks, Dr. Tran, for writing about the benefits of nature. We would love our readers to join us at Brookside Gardens on the 3rdSaturday of every month to Walk With a Doc, or check the WWAD website for a group that is more convenient for you. Our chapter will be featured in the next few months in Bethesda Magazine. Walking with others enhances the benefits inherent in nature of improving your mental and physical health! For more fascinating info from Dr. Berman, check out his book, Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical, and Social Well-Being (2025).