Sir David Attenborough's '10-minute practice' could boost your health
The 98-year-old naturalist and broadcaster shared his wisdom in an episode of Call Of The Wild
Sir David Attenborough has one piece of advice for anyone keen to reconnect with nature - and it may boost your health. The 98-year-old naturalist shared his wisdom in an episode of Call Of The Wild and explained that it only takes 10 minutes.
"Sit down. Don't move," he told podcast host Cel Spellman in 2021. "Keep quiet. Wait ten minutes. You'll be very surprised if something pretty interesting didn't happen.
"Doing that in a woodland, if you haven't done it, it's extraordinary. Don't get too impatient, either." While Attenborough's trick may seem too simple to make a difference, recent research backs the claim that it can.
This includes a 2020 study from Cornell University, which found that students who spent as little as 10 minutes in the natural world daily were less affected by physical and mental stress. In turn, 'nature therapy' is being increasingly praised as an alternative tool to help prevent anxiety, depression and other mental health issues.
"It doesn't take much time for the positive benefits to kick in - we're talking 10 minutes outside in a space with nature," said Associate Professor Gen Meredith at the time. "We firmly believe that every student, no matter what subject or how high their workload, has that much discretionary time each day, or at least a few times per week."
She then added: "This is an opportunity to challenge our thinking around what nature can be. It is really all around us: trees, a planter with flowers, a grassy quad or a wooded area."
Reducing stress not only improves an individual's mental health but is also associated with lowered blood pressure, better sleep quality, and a bolstered immune system. According to Professor Heather Eliassen of Harvard University, this can potentially slash the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, too.
Right now, heart and circulatory diseases account for a quarter of all deaths in the UK, according to the British Heart Foundation, equating to one life every three minutes. Professor Eliassen said: "Evidence is also accumulating that exposure to green space is associated with lower total mortality."
In the interview with Pop Sugar, she then added: "Better mental health and lower risk of psychiatric disorders with more green space exposure has been observed for both children and adults."
In addition to his 10-minute wellness practice, Attenborough maintains a predominantly plant-based diet and has significantly reduced his red meat consumption over the years.
His efforts coincide with growing scientific concern about the link between eating red meat and serious health conditions. In a 2017 interview with The Sun, he revealed: "I have certainly changed my diet. Not in a great sort of dramatic way. But I don't think I've eaten red meat for months.
"I do eat cheese, I have to say, and I eat fish. But by and large, I've become much more vegetarian over the past few years than I thought I would ever be."
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