While I’m recovering from surgery, several other health bloggers are stepping in. Please enjoy this guest post from Suzan!

Scientific studies have found that time spent in nature—even for as little as five minutes—reduces stress, improves creativity, reduces self-criticism, and increases kindness. Spending time outdoors also has measurable physical effects, including reduced inflammation, improved mental clarity and memory, and reduced stress response. It even improves immune function, as measured by the improved function of the body’s natural killer cells, with quantifiable improvements lasting 30 days or more after time spent in nature. These are all very real physical improvements that everyone living with a chronic illness certainly needs.

Aside from scientific research, I know from my own experience that spending time outdoors feels rejuvenating, peaceful, and centering. Before I had ME/CFS, I loved outdoor activities, including long hikes, canoeing, camping, and backpacking. Much of that is beyond my limits now. However, my husband and I still enjoy camping (at our own slow pace), and various treatments for ME/CFS have allowed me to manage short hikes and kayaking. Spending time outdoors is still among my favorite things to do.

Even when I can’t be active, I still have a goal to spend at least 10 minutes each day outside. I lie in my reclining chair on our back deck, looking up at the sky and listening to the birds, and I instantly feel more relaxed. That small amount of time in nature in our own backyard makes me feel better.

Here are some ideas for how you, too, can experience the restorative effects of nature, even if you are mostly homebound.

Just a Few Minutes Outdoors Helps

Some research studies show positive physical and mental changes in people after only five minutes outdoors, so it doesn’t take much to make a difference! Try lying in a reclining chair or hammock in your yard/garden, patio, or deck. Just that simple change of scenery—from reclining on your normal bed or couch to reclining al fresco—can make you feel better and help you to tune into nature.

Leave the Devices Inside

Although I admit I do sometimes bring my laptop outside to write, you’ll get the most benefit from leaving the phone, tablet, laptop, and other devices inside. I usually don’t even play music when I am out on our deck because it drowns out the sounds of nature. Instead, bring a book or a crossword puzzle out with you, or just grab your pillow and maybe a blanket—and relax.

Immerse Yourself in Nature

With the electronic devices left inside, you can concentrate more fully on nature. You may be surprised at how much of the natural world you can experience from simply lying outside your home for a few minutes and at how restorative it can feel. Gaze up at the sky, noting its unique colors and the variations in light and shadow. Watch the clouds move across the sky, and observe their different types and shapes. Notice how the sky after a summer storm looks entirely different from the sky on a clear fall day. Look at the flowers and trees, appreciating their different colors and shapes and how they change with the seasons.

Listen for the sounds of birds singing and the breeze moving through the leaves of the trees. Smell the air. Breathe deeply and notice the aroma of dry fall leaves, damp earth after a spring rain, or the fragrance of summer blooms.

Focus yourself entirely on the natural world around you, blocking out the incessant noise of our modern life. Even just a few minutes of fully immersing yourself in nature can reduce stress, improve your sense of well-being, and bring positive physical changes.

If you can’t manage a few minutes lying outside, then open a window near your bed or couch (or just look through the glass) and try the same exercises to focus each of your senses on the outdoor world. Studies have shown that simply looking at pictures of nature has positive effects.

Managing a Longer Outdoor Experience

More extensive time spent outdoors beyond your own yard can bring even more and longer-lasting improvements. That might be too much to manage for some people who are severely ill and housebound. However, many people with chronic illnesses can handle a longer or more immersive experience outdoors, especially after treating aspects of the disease and incorporating effective illness management to allow you to be more active without relapsing.

If you can manage it, take a stroll along your street or neighborhood and notice the trees, flowers, and sky. Even in a familiar place, you can appreciate the changes in weather and seasons. For a change of scenery, try going to a local park or nature center and taking a short walk.

If a walk is beyond your limits, ask a friend or family member to push your wheelchair along a paved path or to take you on a drive through the country. Roll down the window, breathe in the fresh air, and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.

After treating orthostatic intolerance (OI) and wearing a heart rate monitor, I discovered I can handle a little bit of kayaking. Since it is done sitting down, my heart rate doesn’t jump up as high as when I am walking, and I can rest and just float whenever I need a break. Many parks with lakes or ponds rent canoes or kayaks. If you can’t manage paddling on your own, ask a friend or family member to bring you along in a tandem (two-person) canoe or kayak. Being out on the water is incredibly peaceful and calming.

If you’re up for a more extended outdoor adventure, you might want to try camping. Camping in our pop-up camper and spending more time outdoors than I can at home makes me feel relaxed and content. You don’t have to go far, either; look for local, state, or county parks with campgrounds. Many state parks and private campgrounds offer rental cabins or trailers, or you can rent, borrow, or buy a camper as your home-away-from-home. All public parks have handicapped campsites, and many have at least one wheelchair-accessible trail. You also provide your own food when camping, which helps when you have a restricted diet.

When camping, stick to your normal routines as much as possible. For me, that means an early bedtime and an afternoon nap. We also bring portable lounge chairs so I can recline around the campfire or with my book.

One of the best things about being away from home (even if it’s just a local park) is that I am away from all the usual household responsibilities. I can focus all my energy on relaxing, having fun, and enjoying my surroundings. I love my small daily doses of nature on my back deck, but spending a few hours or a few days immersed in nature elsewhere is truly rejuvenating.

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Every chronically ill person is different and has unique needs, even if we have the same disease, but we can each find our own ways to incorporate nature into our lives. The payoff for a little time spent outside is huge, in terms of both emotional well-being and physical health.

So, go ahead! Put away the device you are reading this on and indulge in some time outdoors. Your mind and body will thank you.

Excerpted from the book, Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic Illness by Suzan L. Jackson 

© 2020 Suzan L. Jackson

Suzan Jackson is a freelance writer whose work focuses on topics related to health, family, travel, and media reviews and has appeared in many magazines, websites, and anthologies. She has had ME/CFS, an immune disorder, since 2002, and also has Lyme disease. Both of her sons also became ill with ME/CFS in 2004. Her younger son is now fully recovered, after 10 years of mild illness. Her elder son, who recently started his first full-time job, still has ME/CFS as well as three tick-borne infections. Sue and her sons improved their conditions with a number of treatments. She runs several support groups, both online and locally, to help others. You can connect with Sue on:

Book: Finding a New Normal

Chronic Illness blog: Live with ME/CFS 

Book blog: Book By Book 

Twitter: @livewithmecfs

YouTube: @SueJacksonDE

Facebook: Live with ME/CFS