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Team building away days to alleviate workplace stress

Team building away days give colleagues the chance to interact with each other in a more relaxed environment and are a fantastic way to reward everyone after a busy and successful year.

But did you know that nature has been proven to alleviate the stresses of modern life? For many years the Japanese have been practicing the art of Shirin-yoko or Forest bathing in the belief that time in the forest is relaxing and healing.

Scientific research proves that time in nature reduces stress.

For the first time ever, researchers have conducted a study on the most effective dose of a nature experience to counteract the effects of modern stress. The study led by Dr. Mary Carol Hunter, an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan and published in Frontiers in Psychology has recommended that healthcare practitioners use their findings to prescribe ‘nature pills’ to over stressed patients with the knowledge that they have a real, tried and tested effect.

So what is a ‘nature pill’? The findings revealed that a 20-minute nature experience, such as walking or sitting in a woodland, forest or park, was enough to significantly reduce a persons cortisol levels. The data showed that spending a little longer, 20 to 30 minutes, allowed cortisol levels to drop at their greatest rate. After that, additional de-stressing benefits continued to add up at a slower rate.

“We know that spending time in nature reduces stress, but until now it was unclear how much is enough, how often to do it, or even what kind of nature experience will benefit us,” explained Dr. Hunter, the lead author of the research.

Pressure on workers can lead to permanent damage.

We live in a culture where excessive work is overvalued and work addiction is the norm. We are often taught that in order to succeed, “you need to continually be getting things done and moving on to the next goal as quickly as possible,” Seppälä, a Stanford psychologist and science director of Stanford’s Center For Compassion and Altruism Research, notes in “The Happiness Track. ”
What is considered a good thing has the potential to harm our health significantly, and permanently. Because of this cultural pressure, even businesses who put employee wellbeing at the forefront of their agenda must take an active role, ensuring that their staff are managing their wellbeing. Competitive environments, pressure to do more faster and the inability to shut off in the evening, due to the ever present smart phone, leaves people open to the effects of chronic stress such as:
  • Proneness to illness and chronic infections
  • High blood pressure
  • Heart problems
  • Increased susceptibility to diabetes and cancer
  • Gastrointestinal issues
  • Muscular skeletal problems
  • Restlessness
  • Substance abuse
Chronic stress also has the ability to interfere with social well-being and can spread to other members of the team as well as loved ones. 

Could time in nature be just the ticket for your team building away day?

A team building away day in nature cannot only provide a welcome respite for your employees but also an opportunity to communicate more openly with each other and find out what changes are needed to ensure that your working environment is as positive as it can be. A happy, healthy, connected team are far more likely to make your business both profitable and successful that a demotivated, stressed out one. Investing in their wellbeing can seem like something that isn’t your responsibility however studies show that workers who are valued and rewarded maintain company loyalty, work smarter and get better results. 
Could you implement a nature experience into your team building away day? Are there things that you could learn that could be taken back to the workplace and used every day to ensure that everyone is looking after themselves and each other? Will ‘take a nature pill!’ become the next office catch phrase when you encounter a frazzled looking colleague by the coffee machine? All answers can be found in the woods! 
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