{"id":58,"date":"2016-07-21T22:49:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T22:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b2.skytripping.com\/blog\/?p=58"},"modified":"2020-09-21T16:29:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T16:29:45","slug":"relieving-stress-the-natural-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/relieving-stress-the-natural-way\/","title":{"rendered":"RELIEVING STRESS, THE NATURAL WAY"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our lives are chock-full of things that can stress us out. Demanding jobs. Performance reviews. Deadlines. Bills. Social media shaming. Polarizing hashtags, news, and political punditry \u2014 the list goes on. These daily pressures are about as common as tap water.<\/p>\n

We wrote a previous blog post revealing the hidden secret of stress<\/a>. We show how leveraging stress (rather than fearing it) can have considerable health benefits.<\/p>\n

But what if we could do one simple thing every day to tame the stress in our lives? Science reveals that upping our dose of nature can radically reduce mental and physical stress.<\/p>\n

Our team has experienced plenty of stress in our own careers despite the fact that we love what we do. The science behind natural stress relief surprised us. But even before we truly understood these studies, we observed that nature played a role in regulating our own stress levels. That, in turn, led us to develop the Sky Tripping app which harnesses the power of nature in reducing stress.<\/p>\n

Nature exposure is a powerful weapon against overwhelm. People living near green space report less mental distress<\/a> than those in urban areas.1<\/a><\/sup> Hospital patients with window views where grass and trees are visible experience faster recoveries.<\/a>2<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Students attending schools with green space perform better<\/a> than those without.3<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Short doses of nature\u2014even images of it\u2014can calm people down and sharpen their performance<\/a>.4<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In studies from Norway to South Korea, findings are the same: nature is the natural stress-buster.<\/p>\n

Nature isn’t just pretty. MRI scans show that nature is good for the brain. When volunteers looked at scenes of nature<\/a>, their anterior cingulate and insula are activated.5<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0These areas of the brain deal with empathy and altruism. Study after study shows that even pictures of natural environments can work wonders.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately the opposite is also true: exposure to urban settings creates stress. The same study<\/a> showed that urban scenes caused more blood flow in the amygdala.5<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The amygdala processes the common “fight or flight” responses such as fear and anxiety.<\/p>\n

Humans need exposure to forests, beaches, rivers, trees, and things that grow. We often find ourselves nature-starved without even knowing it.<\/p>\n

In 2008 a major shift occurred. For the first time in human history, more humans live in cities<\/a> than the countryside.6<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In the US, over 80% of the population lives in urban areas, and in many other countries the percentage is greater.7<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0More people than ever find themselves living without easy access to a natural environment.<\/p>\n

But as these studies show, the benefits of nature exist even when you’re not physically there. Remember that hospital patients only needed a view<\/i> of trees and grass. The MRI volunteers were only shown<\/i> pictures.<\/p>\n

Experiencing the outdoors virtually will improve your emotional well-being. It can also reduce your chances of depression, anxiety, heart disease, migraines, and more<\/a>.8<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It has even been found to increase attentional capacity, positive emotions, and ability to reflect on a life problem<\/a>.9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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\n

RELIEVE STRESS
\nAND GAIN AN
\nEDGE WITH THE
\nSKY TRIPPING APP.<\/h1>\n
\"Calming <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Download Sky Tripping today and experience the peace and tranquility of immersive aerial videos in nature. \u00a0DOWNLOAD TODAY\u00bb<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Learn More<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sky Tripping offers stunning aerial views of some of the most beautiful places on Earth. The films include natural audio tracks which further maximize the stress-reducing benefits. Our users report a powerful relaxation effect and a decline in stress levels as they use our app. Sky Tripping is available in the App Store for iOS and the new Apple TV. Set daily reminders to take a short break while you reap the healing and restorative powers of nature.<\/p>\n

Reducing stress is a worthwhile pursuit, but eliminating stressors isn’t enough. Preparing yourself for unforeseen challenges is the key to maintaining mental and physical wellness. Meditation, deep breathing, and walks in nature are all great options for managing stress. Tools like Sky Tripping give you the help you need to develop habits of calmness and focus \u2014 no matter what life throws at you.<\/p>\n

_____________________________________________________<\/p>\n

<\/a>1.\u00a0University of Exeter Medical School, 2014<\/a>,\u00a0see also:\u00a0School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, 2013<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>2. Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway, 2015<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>3. PNAS 2015<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>4. Matilda van den Bosch, Psychology & Behavior 118, May 2013<\/p>\n

<\/a>5.\u00a0Korean Journal of Radiology, 2010<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>6.\u00a0http:\/\/www.csmonitor.com\/2007\/0112\/p25s02-wogi.html<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>7. US Census Bureau<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>8.\u00a0Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway, 2015<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>9.\u00a0Oberlin College, 2009<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our lives are chock-full of things that can stress us out. Demanding jobs. Performance reviews. Deadlines. Bills. Social media shaming. Polarizing hashtags, news, and political punditry \u2014 the list goes on. These daily pressures are about as common as tap water. We wrote a previous blog post revealing the hidden secret of stress. We show … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “RELIEVING STRESS, THE NATURAL WAY”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357,"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.skytripping.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}