Are You Getting Enough Vitamin N?
Bask in the remarkable nutrients that nature provides.
What? You haven’t heard about vitamin N? Well then let me explain the importance of this vital nutrient known as nature.
In my health coaching practice, I have been teaching my clients for decades the importance of communing with nature (Vitamin N) to support optimal health and well-being based on my gut instinct and personal experience.
Because I found that spending time with nature is as critical for my physical, mental, and spiritual health as eating a proper diet, regular physical activity, and getting adequate sleep. It has been a pillar for more than thirty years in my management of health, stress, mood, and quality of life. Nobody had to tell me to do it, it just occurred innately. If I wane from this activity, then I suffer great consequences. So, I build it into my life naturally.
And now science demonstrates there is concrete evidence to support my stance that a little time with the elements is truly good for our well-being all around.
Science Says Nature is Good for Us
A growing body of research indicates that by spending more time in nature we can significantly decrease stress, tension, and anxiety; increase relaxation; lower blood pressure and heart rate; decrease depression, ADHD, and the need for pain medication; promote faster healing time; assist in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction; aid in coping with trauma and disability; improve self-esteem and self-discipline; increase anticancer protein expression and natural killer cells; and foster more inner peace, joy, feelings of well-being, compassion, life satisfaction, and transcendental connectedness.
In one study, just twenty minutes of looking at a forest lowered cortisol levels an average of 13.4 percent. When the subjects went into the forest for a three-day trip, they experienced a 50 percent increase in the activity of their natural killer cells as well as an increase in the actual number of natural killer cells. Another study found that touching metal provoked a stress response in the brain, but touching a leaf produced a calming effect.
In a national study, psychologists Frances Kuo and Andrea Taylor found that children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder experienced a significant reduction in symptoms after participating in activities in green outdoor settings. It didn’t matter what the activity was, be it playing a sport or simply sitting in the environment, the degree of improvement in ADHD symptoms was linked to the degree of greenness that was present in the setting. “The greener a child’s typical play settings, the less severe his or her general symptoms.”
Researchers at the University of Illinois found that inner-city girls who simply had a green view from the window in their home owned appreciably higher levels of self-discipline than girls without a view. The greener her view the less impulsively she acts, the greater her capacity to delay gratification, and the better her concentration.
And yet other researchers discovered that residents who have trees and other greenery outside their homes experience an abundance of benefits like less crime, a greater capacity to cope with the demands of life, less aggression and violence among partners, and they experience a deeper sense of community.
“Neuroscience behind being out in Nature suggests a number of important brain functions are affected. For instance, subjects tested after spending time in urban settings were found to have more blood flow to the amygdala (known as the alarm system of the body, where fear and anxiety are processed), while subjects spending time in natural settings were found to have more blood flow to the anterior cingulate and insula (areas of the brain associated with empathy and altruism). Those spending time outside were found to have higher alpha waves (with accompanying increased levels of serotonin and greater relaxation), as well as less blood flow to the lower area of the prefrontal cortex (and therefore suspected to have decreased levels of depressive rumination).”
The term Vitamin N was first coined by journalist and author Richard Louv who has written about the consequences we face due to our disconnect from nature three times. In his first book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, he chronicles the profound consequences of being cut off from nature on our children. In 2011, he followed up with The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder which focuses on the importance of nature for adults. In his third book Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life, it is aimed at the whole family and our communities.
But now the phrase Vitamin N has become a catchphrase even in the medical community as they have become more aware of the immense amount of benefits that can be achieved. Spending time with nature is so effective that many health care practitioners, including medical doctors, now prescribe it as part of the treatment plan for a wide variety of health conditions. Some health professionals even partner with park professionals to make it happen.
Reconnecting with Our Primal Roots
The human species evolved living in the great outdoors, so from an evolutionary standpoint, we are hardwired to spend time with nature. From birth to death, the lives of our early ancestors took place in the wild. They bathed in streams, took shelter near rocks, climbed trees, swung on vines, chased down their dinner, got warmth by basking in the sun, ate meals outdoors, and procreated under the stars. It is no wonder studies indicate that communing with nature provides us with a variety of health benefits — physically, emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually. To do so is in our genes.
Although modern civilization has enhanced our lives in many ways, it has also ripped us away from our primal roots and increased our stress level tenfold, which is one of the primary causes of the decline in mental and physical health that plagues our society. As would any animal that is removed from its natural habitat, we experience negative consequences that can have a profound impact on emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. Nature is not separate from us; it is part of us and we are part of it. We emerged from the natural world. Simply returning to our native environment to regularly commune with Mother Nature can help counteract some of the side effects of modern living and nourish us back to health. It is an inborn need that should not be ignored.
Ways to Get Your Vitamin N
In an ideal world, we would all strive to live where we are enveloped by nature on a daily basis so that all we have to do is look out the window or step out the door to return to our natural home. If you have the ability to make that happen, I highly encourage you to do so. It will greatly enhance your life and health.
But, regardless of where you live, immerse yourself in nature as much as you can in any way you can. Try to spend at least a little bit of time outside each day, and more than a little, if possible.
Exercise outside, take a break from work and go outside, have a picnic lunch or evening dinner under the trees, conduct meetings in the park, plant a garden or just a few flowers, feed the birds, relax on the porch, walk your dog, go hiking, read in the recliner in your backyard, play with the children, and gaze at the stars.
You don’t always have to spend extended periods outdoors. Just go out and stand in the sun or the wind for a couple of minutes, or walk around the yard or parking lot, and then go back to what you were doing. Sit in your backyard and watch the sunrise, sunset, approaching storm, or cloud formations.
The great outdoors is a fantastic place to meditate and do deep-breathing exercises, two other activities I encourage highly to support optimal health. And put mindfulness into action while you are with nature; be completely aware of and one with the breeze or the sun against your skin, the sound of your footsteps against the earth, the song of a bird or chirp of the crickets. Tune everything else out and be completely absorbed in the nature moment.
Don’t just sit with nature; interact with it and get intimate. Touch the rocks, snowflakes, raindrops, flowers, or leaves with your fingers, or brush them against your cheek. Lie on the ground, lean against a tree, sit on a rock, let an insect crawl across your foot or hand. Take a walk in the rain or the falling snow. Absorb the many different smells.
In addition, try to get out for longer periods a couple of times a week. Spend a whole day with nature when possible. Plan your vacation in a beautiful natural setting. If long vacations are not an option, take occasional day trips to the lake, the mountains, the ocean, the forest, or the desert.
When you can’t get outside, bring nature to you. Open the doors and windows and listen to the birds, the wind, the rain, or the silence. Try to live in a home with lots of windows. Look out the window frequently throughout the day, just a minute here and there if that’s all the time you have, and appreciate the sky, clouds, sunshine, birds, flowers, and trees.
Place your desk with your computer and your favorite recliner next to a window so that you can look up and nurture yourself for a few seconds occasionally throughout the workday, or spend a half-hour in your recliner observing wildlife behavior, changes in the weather, the clouds rolling by, snowfall, or the rising or setting sun.
Bring plants, rocks, seashells, acorns, and pinecones into your home and use them for decorations. Take advantage of every opportunity you can find to spend more time in nature and you will feel more fulfilled and complete.
Nature Sustains Me
“Nature has been for me, for as long as I remember, a source of solace, inspiration, adventure, and delight; a home, a teacher, a companion.” — Lorraine Anderson
I grew up in a small rural town, so I was surrounded by nature as a child. I rode my bike under the trees, snacked on wild berries on a regular basis, dug in the dirt, swung on vines in the woods, and ran around barefoot for most of my childhood and teenage years. I have scars on my knees from bike crashes on gravel roads that launched me into the bushes and on my feet from numerous barefoot injuries.
Once I got my driver’s license, I took long drives in the country to observe the fall leaves, spring blooms, and winter snowfall. I have always been drawn to a natural environment.
As an adult, I moved to the city for a few years but that wasn’t the life for me, so I returned to a country setting, and that is where I’ve remained. Although a short visit to the city can be fun, too much time there and I’m feeling highly stressed, drained, and under the weather and it takes a day or so to recover.
Although I have lived in a variety of different terrains over the years, I currently live in the quiet, peaceful, high-desert mountains, where I coexist with coyotes, birds, jackrabbits, bunnies, and squirrels, all of which befriend me regularly. When I step out my door I enter their world, and I am caressed by the loving arms of nature.
I work from home, and my desk sits in front of a window where I am surrounded by wide-open blue skies and mountains. I don’t think I could survive in any other setting, and I wouldn’t think of trying. Although I may move to a different community at some point, it is inconceivable to me that I would ever live anywhere besides an area that provides me with constant intimacy with nature. It nurtures, sustains, and entertains me and provides me with solace.
You can Never Get too Much Vitamin N
Regardless of your health status, spending a little time with the elements on a consistent basis will promote higher levels of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Give yourself a gift by saturating your mind and body with the wonders of nature.
Research suggests that this nutrient may be just as important as vitamins A, B, C, D, & E. However, unlike other vitamins, you can never get too much vitamin N. It costs you nothing and it is available at your fingertips every minute of every day.
