At some point we became convinced that our phones would provide the necessary ingredients of a productivity break. But nature has been playing that role for aeons and is much better at it. In this article, Jacob discusses the evidence for short nature-based productivity resets.
Hey, I’m Jacob, a social work student on placement with BetterU. If you caught my first piece on gratitude journaling, you know I’m interested in easy-to-implement wellbeing tools for our busy schedules.
Instead of attempting a lifestyle overhaul, this is about what happens when you step into nature for a few minutes and how that affects your focus, your mood, and your ability to actually get things done.
Something I had to learn the hard way
I still remember scrambling to finish up an essay in the Bedford Park library the day before it was due. I was tired, wired on coffee, and fully burnt out by 2 p.m., with probably a third of the essay left.
Something in me was sick of staring at that narrow laptop screen, so instead of blankly staring at Word, I walked out of the library and sat by the lake doing absolutely nothing, which turned out to be exactly what I needed.
I remember the sense of relief I got simply from being there, and it was this relief that unlocked the focus I needed to knock out my essay. Afterwards, this became a bit of a routine for me; halfway through a big study session, I would often go chill near some campus greenery to reset my head.
Most students assume the smart move is to push through, but a 2020 scoping review specifically examining this among university students found promising results, giving students a good reason to close the laptop and step outside. And it suggests that we need less time than you might think.
The research behind the reset
The review team set out to determine the minimum effective dose: how little time we notoriously time-poor students actually need in nature to see real benefits. This isn’t just one experiment; the team sifted through almost 11,000 records to identify and review the 14 most relevant studies on student wellbeing in nature.
The team noted that you do not need to go out looking for a secret-garden oasis to benefit; instead, it’s the time spent in nature that matters. Just 10-20 minutes anywhere the grass grows: gardens, reserves, campus parks, woodlands, you name it.
The study examined specific markers in students, such as heart rate, blood pressure, mood, and focus. These markers were then compared with those of students who spent the same amount of time in urban areas. And the results are very promising.
Nature won’t stimulate you the way caffeine will, but it will give you a relaxed, calm focus, and that’s exactly what you need to get back to studying. Anyway, instead of me yapping on and trying to explain the science to you, here’s a nice infographic breakdown that shows just 10-20 minutes in these spaces can shift your system from stressed or unfocused to calm and restored.
Pretty amazing results for such a short break. So, instead of thinking “I don’t have the time for this, I need to study,” flip the script: “20 minutes outside is how I study better.” Think of your attention like a battery; intense study drains it while nature recharges it…
Keeping Your Charge: Routine Nature Resets
You don’t have to wait until you are completely fried, staring blankly at your Word doc like I was. To keep your focus sharp and avoid hitting that wall entirely, simply move your existing study breaks outside.
Be it with lunch or without, with a friend or solo, walking or sitting: the important thing is that you spend your study breaks taking in the sights and sounds of your nearest green space.
To really get the benefit, you have to leave the busy world behind. Put your phone away and ditch the AirPods. Your brain will thank you for the silence.
Low Power Mode: When You Hit That Wall
When you’re also sick of staring at that narrow laptop screen, and maybe you too are “tired and wired” on your second coffee for the day, that’s your cue to step outside…
Brain fog? Go for a walk.
If your focus is slipping but you still have energy: walk your focus back.
• Time: just 15-20 minutes, and you’ll start concentrating better.
• Company: Go with a friend to bounce ideas around. Go alone if you need a hard reset.
• Location: Any green space works; many Flinders campuses offer natural spaces, but even your local park will do in a pinch.
Overwhelmed? Go sit.
Find a good spot in nature, away from the noise, and just sit.
• Time: 10-20 minutes.
• Mindset: Have no expectations to be mindful or engage with your senses; just let the environment bring you back to baseline.
• Reality: You might feel restless and fidgety, and this might seem like a pointless activity, but stay with it. The research suggests benefits can occur even if you don’t notice them straight away.
Step away from your desk for a moment, take a walk outside, and simply be with nature for a bit. It might seem silly at first, but you’ll notice the difference.
Go touch grass.
Reference
Meredith, G. R., Rakow, D. A., Eldermire, E. R. B., Madsen, C. G., Shelley, S. P., & Sachs, N. A. (2020). Minimum Time Dose in Nature to Positively Impact the Mental Health of College-Aged Students, and How to Measure It: A Scoping Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2942. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02942