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LifestyleMental Health

by Sofia Brontvein

Why Nature Heals And Cities Drain Us

13 Aug 2025

Image: Midjourney x The Sandy Times

Part I: The month that changed me

I spent almost all of July in nature. No schedule. No alarms. Just forests, oceans, fields. I ran without tracking. I cycled without competing. I walked for hours without knowing where I was going. Some days, I sat still and listened to birds argue in the trees. Other days, I swam in silence and forgot what day it was.
Mauritius was the final and most magical stop. Wild, windy beaches. Mountain trails. Air that smelled like sugarcane and rain. I slept better. I smiled more. I didn’t need coffee. I felt… returned to myself. Light in my body, calm in my thoughts. Like something inside me had been plugged back into the world’s original socket.
No filters, no buildings, no noise. Just air, water, earth, and me. And I had never felt better.
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Image: Midjourney x The Sandy Times

Part II: The return to noise

Then I came back to Dubai. Within 48 hours, I felt drained. Anxious. Stiff. My sleep fractured. My head tight. My nervous system in a low buzz of fight-or-flight, even as I sat still. It was like my body was whispering: "We don’t belong here."
Don’t get me wrong — I love this city. I built my life here. I run a media brand here. There is energy, there is brilliance, there is always something happening. But that is exactly the problem. There is always something happening.
No matter how luxurious, efficient, or inspiring a city is, it can’t give you what nature does. It demands. It doesn’t replenish.
In nature, you sync to something greater. In cities, you sync to your calendar.
In nature, your breath slows. In cities, your screen time climbs.
In nature, time expands. In cities, you’re always late for something.
I came back healthier than I’ve ever felt. And within a week, I was back in a cycle of micro-burnout. Why are we okay with this?

Part III: The science of green

As it turns out, I am not just being dramatic. There is science behind what I felt.
Reduced cortisol: Studies show that time in nature significantly lowers cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone. Even just 20 minutes in a park can shift your physiology out of stress mode.
Improved sleep and immunity: Natural environments reset our circadian rhythms, improve melatonin production, and boost immune cell activity. People who spend time outdoors sleep deeper and get sick less often.
Mental clarity and mood: Exposure to green and blue spaces (forests, lakes, oceans) improves focus, creativity, and emotional resilience. One study showed that even looking at a picture of nature can improve cognitive function compared to city scenes.
Forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku): This Japanese practice — simply walking slowly and attentively through the forest — has been shown to lower heart rate, blood pressure, and anxiety. No equipment. No goals. Just being.
Your body doesn’t lie. It knows where it came from. And it misses it more than you think.
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Image: Midjourney x The Sandy Times

Part IV: Finding the balance

But most of us don’t live in wild places. We live in cities. And leaving it all to go live in a cabin (though tempting) isn’t always an option. So how do we find balance?
1. Schedule nature like it is your job. Block off time. Weekends, mornings, evenings — whatever you can. Don’t wait until burnout. Make it non-negotiable. A walk in the park is not a luxury. It is medicine.
2. Redesign your environment. Bring nature in. Houseplants. Sunlight. Nature sounds. Wood and stone textures. Photos of places you love. It sounds small, but your nervous system will notice.
3. Practice mindful movement outdoors. Don’t just run with your headphones on. Try walking slowly. Barefoot if you can. Touch leaves. Smell things. Yes, really. Let your senses remember the world.
4. Choose your escapes with intention. When you do have time off — don’t default to shopping malls and hotel rooftops. Go somewhere green. Go somewhere quiet. Let yourself disappear for a few days. You don’t have to document it. Just feel it.
5. Say no to more noise. Social noise. Digital noise. Event noise. When you start to recognise what real serenity feels like, you become less willing to fake it. Protect your peace like it is sacred — because it is.
I don’t think nature is a luxury anymore. I think it is essential. Not just for recovery. For survival. Because when I was out there — between the trees and the sea and the sky — I remembered who I was before the to-do lists, the traffic, the deadlines, the digital life. And I don’t want to forget that version of me again. Not for all the skyline views in the world.