Hey, what's up? Jen here, and this is a happy bit. So many women tell me that they are busy and

overwhelmed and have this never-ending to-do list. But if you've been listening to Vibrant Happy

Women for any length of time, you know that I'm all about helping women find more peace.

And that's why I want to talk about nature today. There are a number of

studies that show that proximity to green space, that means having time in nature, lowers your

cortisol, the stress hormone, lowers depression and anxiety, and raises your ability to think and pay attention and focus,

especially in kids. Who doesn't want that? I found that when I'm feeling stress,

if I just sit still and breathe, that helps a lot. But it feels like when I go outside and

breathe while I'm lying in the grass or basking in the sun or sitting under a tree,

that my stress goes down way faster.

So I really do believe this research is true.

An interesting study took place in Japan.

They took a number of men and assigned them to go on walks in the forest versus walks in an urban area.

And they found that those who walked in the forest had significantly lower salivary cortisol,

lower blood pressure, and a lower pulse than those who walked in the urban areas.

It makes sense, though, right?

Noise kind of causes a fight or flight response, and quiet does the opposite.

How much time have you spent outside in nature lately? Maybe it's just taking that walk and breathing deeply while you do enjoying the feeling of the sun on your face

or those beautiful trees or flowers lining the road.

Or maybe it's just going out to sit.

I remember one particularly stressful day when I just felt overwhelmed.

Probably I had tons of cortisol just pumping through my body. I went outside and I just

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