Benefits of Spending Time in Nature

What Happens to the Body in Nature

Last updated: October 21, 2026

Time in nature measurably lowers stress hormones and restores attention. A 2019 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that 20 to 30 minutes outdoors produced the most efficient drop in the stress hormone cortisol. A separate 2019 study of nearly 20,000 people, published in Scientific Reports, linked at least two hours a week in nature with better health and wellbeing. Wilding Hotels is designed around those conditions.

Stress: The First Twenty Minutes

Researchers at the University of Michigan, led by MaryCarol Hunter, asked 36 city residents to spend time in a place that felt like nature at least three times a week for eight weeks. Participants gave saliva samples before and after, so the team could measure cortisol directly.

The results, published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2019, showed cortisol dropped most efficiently between 20 and 30 minutes. After that, the benefit kept building at a slower rate. The type of activity did not matter. Sitting worked as well as walking.

There was one condition. Participants set aside phones, social media, conversation, and reading during their time outside. The setting did its work when attention was free to wander.

Attention: Soft Fascination

In the 1980s, psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan proposed attention restoration theory. Focused attention, they argued, is a limited resource, and nature renews it by holding attention gently. Water moving. Light on snow. Wind in the trees. The Kaplans called this soft fascination.

In 2008, Marc Berman, John Jonides, and Stephen Kaplan tested the idea. Participants walked either through an arboretum or along city streets, then repeated a demanding memory and attention task. After the nature walk, scores improved by about 20 percent. After the city walk, they did not. The effect held on a cold January day, and participants did not need to enjoy the walk to benefit. In a related experiment, simply viewing photographs of nature produced a similar improvement.

Dose: Two Hours a Week

How much is enough? Mathew White and colleagues at the University of Exeter studied nearly 20,000 people in England and published their findings in Scientific Reports in 2019. People who spent at least 120 minutes in nature in the previous week were significantly more likely to report good health and high wellbeing than people who spent none. The benefit peaked between 200 and 300 minutes a week.

It did not matter whether those minutes came in one long visit or several short ones. The researchers note that the study shows association rather than proof of cause. The pattern still held across ages and backgrounds.

Awe: The View That Does Not Fit

Some moments in nature work differently. Researchers describe awe as the response to something so vast the mind has to stretch to take it in. In 2015, Paul Piff, Dacher Keltner, and colleagues published five experiments in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. People who experienced awe, including awe from towering natural scenes, felt a smaller sense of self and acted more generously toward others.

Anyone who has watched the northern lights move across a dark sky knows the feeling before they have a name for it. Time slows. The inner narration goes quiet.

What This Means for a Stay

None of this research describes a program. It describes conditions: a natural setting, attention left free, and enough time. That is what Wilding builds. Glass that keeps the landscape in the room. Quiet that lets attention rest. Stays long enough for the first twenty minutes to become the first two days.

At Wilding at Tawakoni, it is the lake at first light. At Wilding Fairbanks, it is the sky through a glass ceiling at two in the morning. The science explains a great deal. It does not fully explain that moment. Both things are true, and we hold both.

The body already knows how to do this. Give it the conditions. See what is available.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do you need to spend in nature to reduce stress?

A 2019 University of Michigan study in Frontiers in Psychology found cortisol dropped most efficiently after 20 to 30 minutes in a natural setting, with benefits continuing at a slower rate afterward. A 2019 Scientific Reports study linked at least 120 minutes a week in nature with better reported health and wellbeing.

What is attention restoration theory?

Attention restoration theory, proposed by psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, holds that focused attention is a limited resource that natural settings help renew. Nature holds attention gently, through moving water, light, or wind, which the Kaplans called soft fascination. A 2008 study found nature walks improved attention scores by about 20 percent.

Does looking at nature through a window help?

Research suggests it can. In a 2008 Psychological Science study, people who viewed photographs of nature showed attention improvements similar to those who walked through a park. It is one reason Wilding Hotels builds with glass, so the landscape stays visible from inside the room.