How to Get the Biggest Mental-Health Boost from 15 Minutes Outdoors
Research indicates that spending just 15 minutes outdoors can significantly improve mental health. The key to these benefits lies not in the duration of time spent outside, but in the quality of the experience and the attention given to nature. Young adults, in particular, may experience pronounced improvements in mood and stress levels from brief encounters with nature.
- ▪A 2025 meta-analysis found that 15 minutes outside can meaningfully impact mental well-being.
- ▪Exposure to urban nature reduces anxiety, depression, and stress while enhancing positive mood.
- ▪Richardson's research emphasizes that the quality of time spent in nature is more important than the quantity.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Nearly two decades ago, while working as a researcher at the University of Derby in England, Miles Richardson started taking daily walks to recover from long days behind a desk. Around the same time, he got his first iPhone and began using it to jot down notes about everything he noticed on those outings—from birdsong and budding flowers to shifts in the weather and changing seasons. After his first year, he had amassed some 50,000 words of observations.“That had quite a profound impact,” Richardson says. “It changed my relationship with nature.”He kept up the practice for another year, eventually compiling 100,000 words’ worth of notes. The experience convinced him that intentionally noticing nature could boost well-being and deepen people’s relationship with the natural world.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at TIME — Top.
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