When it’s cold outside, the temptation can be to stay in with a mug of tea and keep cosy, and it’s easy to see why! But a wander around the winter scenery can be great for our mental and physical health, and it also usually makes us feel warmer when we come back inside.

Getting out in nature—and immersing ourselves in it—has been shown to bring down stress levels, restoring the balance of our mind and mood level. This is important, because prolonged stress can have all sort of negative impacts on our health.  It’s widely accepted that, as well as affecting our mood and emotions, stress can affect our digestion, blood pressure, energy levels, muscles, skin, immune system and probably more!

Even simply taking a brisk walk for ten minutes is helpful, but if you can, why not find some time to linger a bit longer and have a go at forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku? Focusing on and appreciating the tiny details of natural things can help our mind not to stray back to that pesky to-do list. This involves engaging all our senses, not just sight, although that is important of course!

The different seasons provide opportunities to experience different things. Whilst in summer you might enjoy the soft and spring texture of moss and listen to birdsong, in winter you might pick up a pinecone and study its intricate layout, trace a pattern in the snow, listen for tell-tale rustles in the undergrowth, and run a hand along a spiky evergreen branch. And don’t forget to take some deep, full breaths.

So next time you’re about to take a tea break, or feeling a bit overwhelmed with chores of a weekend, try pouring that drink into a travel mug and going for a wander around your nearest woodland instead!