Use Natures Energy - Boosting Your Natural Energy: Chronic Fatigue
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Use nature's energy
Anyone who enjoys the outdoors, whether for gardening, hiking, or taking walks along the beach, knows that getting outdoors can help restore body and soul. There aren't any scientific studies documenting that communing with nature can actually fight fatigue, but some scientists are beginning to explore this theory.
Some research suggests that being in nature can have therapeutic and restorative effects. This supports a theory developed by Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson known as "biophilia," which holds that humans have an innate connection to the natural world and to other living things, and that contact with nature can benefit your health.
Evolution may indeed have hard-wired us to prefer natural places. Common sense tells us that time spent hiking in the hills, walking in a beautiful garden, or bird watching can help a person feel restored. Hospitals and nursing homes widely employ the concept of "healing gardens" for their patients. If nothing else, getting outdoors can help reduce stress by taking your mind off troubling thoughts. And communing with nature often goes hand in hand with exercise, a known energy booster.
| Last updated: | January 23, 2007 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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