1 . The Upside to Being Outside

Research shows that being in nature makes people feel good, whether they’re roughing it in the wilderness for days or just hanging out at a local park for a while. One study was conducted in the city of Birmingham, Alabama. Researchers found that most participants’ mood and well-being improved significantly when they spent time in urban parks, even though the average visit was only around half an hour.

    1     For example, scientists in the United Kingdom studied the impact of the “30 Days Wild” campaign. It challenged people to interact with nature for 30 days by enjoying earthy activities like feeding birds and planting flowers. Participants were measurably happier and healthier throughout the challenge…and for months afterwards, too.

How does nature boost people’s happiness? Scientists say that spending time in natural settings reduces stress and anxiety, which benefits mental and physical health. Research shows our brains are more relaxed in natural settings. So, kicking back in a park is a bit like treating your mind to a restful mini vacation.

To most people, it’s not news that nature can be calming. But multiple studies have found that spending time in nature also has some more surprising benefits, like improving creativity and problem-solving.     2     Another found that exposure to nature helped people score better on tests. That’s more proof that going outside is a smart move!

What accounts for the connection with cognition and creativity? It could be that a good dose of nature acts as a cure to information overload. Everyday life involves a lot of multitasking. Some scientists theorize that spending time in nature enables our brains to rest and recover from mental tiredness.     3    

Naturally, scientific studies don’t cover everything that’s great about the great outdoors.     4     From recreation and exercise to happiness and creativity, there are lots of upsides to getting outside.

2 . Have We Forgotten How to Enjoy Our Free Time?

Leisure is the price, right? We work hard, so we want to play hard, we look forward to our time off, believing that the more leisure time we have, the better life will be. Enjoying that time—or savoring that end goal—should come naturally.

However, research shows that both having and deciding how to spend leisure time can be very stressful.    1    This pressure to maximize our fun might be getting in the way of our enjoyment of the leisure itself. What’s wrong?

In fact, the way we perceive and value leisure has changed, problematically. Understanding this evolution and finding ways to change our attitudes surrounding leisure could help people to start enjoying themselves once again.

    2    In ancient Greece, most of the labor was outsourced to slaves, while wealthier parts of society pursued other activities. Leisure was an active state of mind. Good leisure meant playing sports, debating qualified peers, and doing philosophy. Leisure was not easy, but it was supposed to be rewarding.

Today, however, a lack of leisure time operates as a powerful status symbol. In the workplace, being part of the long-hours working culture is seen by many as a badge of honor. This fuels the idea that we must maximize leisure's enjoyment value and make every hour count when we actually do get some time off. This might not necessarily be a bad thing.    3    New research shows that we judge future positive events as both farther away and shorter than negative or neutral ones, leading us to feel as if a holiday is over as soon as it begins.

Fortunately, there are ways to help out.    4    For holidays, do one thing that is “completely crazy” in the middle, such as bungee jumping and one equally insane thing at the end, say, an extravagant meal, to elevate the entire experience. For most people, the persistent fear that we are not using our time “right” can derail the very purpose of leisure, because the only “right” way to have leisure is to relax, let your guard down, make good memories, and trust the pieces will fall into place.