 and her passion to discover the benefits of outdoors, nature and trees to comfort, restore and revitalise us. Here Cheryl chats with us about what we can learn from the wisdom of woodlands to improve our own wellness. What is the connection between trees and happiness? There is a raft of scientific research which shows that trees calm us down and lift us up: they both soothe our minds and make us feel positive emotions such as awe, serenity, joy and gratitude. Studies show that walking in trees will switch off the stress response, swap the cortisol and adrenalin production for happy hormones such as oxytocin and serotonin. When we walk in the woods our calm response is engaged. We don't even have to walk: in one Japanese field study across 24 forest sites, even standing still looking at trees reduced levels of the stress. Why is it so important right now to go into the woods to improve our wellbeing? We currently spend between 90% and 93% of our time indoors (and 6% of that time inside cars) and spend more time glued to screens – texting, typing, gaming, watching TV, than we spend sleeping. While time outside is on the decrease, anxiety, depression, and other mental health illnesses are on the increase. We have never needed to reconnect with nature more than we do today. Trees calm us down and lift us up: they both soothe our minds and m){kind=link}
By Suzy Walker
‘I climbed to my favourite spot in my apple tree and cried.’
Cheryl Rickman, Sunday Times best-selling author and positive psychology expert, is explaining to me how a tree brought comfort and solace in the worst of times.
‘My mother Denise died suddenly aged 43, when I was only 17 years old and climbing up that tree in my moment of grief provided me with escape and comfort,’ she tells Metro.co.uk.
In that moment, Cheryl knew that however dreadful she was feeling, ‘trees made me feel better’.