A professor in the 91福利社 College of Arts and Sciences and his students are looking at ways to combat stress鈥攏aturally.
We鈥檙e facing and processing unprecedented challenges posed by a global pandemic, increased conflict globally and personal crises that hit close to home. Added to the mix are ever-present phones and tablets; when they鈥檙e not barraging us with notifications, they鈥檙e skewing our perception of reality. At the same time, people who help others, whether in education, healthcare, public service or the military, are becoming fatigued as they face challenges on many fronts.
Dr. Travis (Rocky) Nation, professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at 91福利社, used his own experiences as a springboard to further study on how to recognize stressors and to manage how they鈥檙e internalized.
鈥淪everal years ago I had come to the realization and acknowledged that stress and anxiety were friends or acquaintances. It鈥檚 probably something that had been there for a really long time. I never really dealt with it,鈥� he said. 鈥淔inally like it does with a lot of people, it came to a head and鈥攍ong story short鈥擨 ended up in the emergency room. It was just kind of a reckoning time, an assessment of 鈥榳hat am I doing and what I need to work on.鈥欌��
It鈥檚 a given in life that there are always going to be things out of our control. That said, Dr. Nation focuses his studies on the best ways to respond when things go wrong.
鈥淭he big overarching message is that stress is universal; you can鈥檛 run from it; you can鈥檛 eliminate it; but you can learn to manage it,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ne of the big central themes is the concept of resilience and being able to respond to disturbances and stressors and returning to some normal, healthy state.鈥�
For much of his life, Dr. Nation has enjoyed being outdoors. He feels anyone can benefit from intentional time spent outside. With his students, Dr. Nation studies how individuals鈥� heart rate and blood pressure is affected by spending increased time outdoors.
鈥滐豢锘縁orest bathing (鈥淪hinrin Yoku鈥� in Japanese) is the practice of mindfulness in outdoor settings, primarily forests,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 basically spending time in a forest immersing yourself in the sights, sounds, smells and textures of a natural area for the benefits of relaxation and calming the stress response. There is a substantial body of research that supports those claims.鈥�
Whether referred to as forest bathing or something else, the concept, Dr. Nation explains, is really an old idea found in a lot of cultures and traditions, including Old Testament and New Testament scripture.
鈥淚 think it really is kind of a universal experience that being outdoors is good for you,鈥� he said. Taking his class outdoors to the nearby Rocky River Nature Park, he鈥檚 conducted research with his students. Students would sit in folding outdoor chairs and do nothing but take in the sights and sounds.
鈥淲e鈥檇 do a set of measurements. Even after 20 minutes, it鈥檚 pretty remarkable. You see an average drop in heart rate and blood pressure and increase in heart rate variability,鈥� he said.
Dr. Nation advocates that exercise, a healthy diet and disconnecting from devices (phones, tablets, computers) helps individuals become more resilient under pressure.
He established Carolina Wilderness Renewal (), an organization offering programs aimed at helping those who help others by promoting the therapeutic value of nature. He hopes to make presentations during seminars, continuing education and professional development activities. He also hopes to publish a book.
鈥淭he wheels of creativity started turning and I came up with this idea to start a project to talk about stress and physiological aspects of it, but also how to manage it all in the context of being outdoors and incorporating some of those elements of forest bathing or ecotherapy. I tend to refer to it as nature-based stress management,鈥� he said.
So, what are some things anyone can do?
Dr. Nation says the simple act of going for a walk introduces the element of exercise.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole lot of research that suggests there鈥檚 something about being outdoors, whether it鈥檚 away from man-made noise or the actual parts of the environment like colors and textures and sounds that have been demonstrated to knock down those stress responses. Even just going for a walk in a natural area if it鈥檚 not a wilderness area can have therapeutic benefits. There are tons of papers that show that. Just going for a walk sometimes 15-30 minutes is good. Even more is better,鈥� he said.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a silver bullet. It鈥檚 not a cure-all. You鈥檙e not going to cure certain illnesses by spending 30 minutes a day outdoors. It鈥檚 good for you and it can help eliminate some of the issues we have. But it鈥檚 fairly easy, it鈥檚 fairly accessible, and in most places it鈥檚 free.鈥�