How Nature Resets Your Nervous System: 5 Science-Backed Ways to Reduce Stress Naturally
Lost Lake Trail, Chugach National Forest, Alaska
Earth Day, April 22, 2026
This Wednesday is Earth Day and this year's theme, "Our Power, Our Planet," really really resonates with me.
I vaguely remember the very first Earth Day back in 1970. I was five. I'm not sure how much I understood about anything at that age, but I do remember something feeling important about it once aware of it. Now, building VITAL, a company that quite literally depends on a healthy, wild, accessible planet, I find myself taking Earth Day more seriously than ever, not just as a cause, but as a reminder.
Spending time in nature is one of the most effective, science backed ways to reduce stress and reset your nervous system. From lowering your cortisol levels to improving mood and focus, even short periods outdoors can have measurable benefits for your mental and physical health.
You can find local events, community cleanups, tree plantings, and educational workshops at EARTHDAY.ORG - or register your own event during Earth Week.
First Rim to Rim to Rim trek. 2021
How I Got Here: Nature Gave Me My Power Back
The reason I started VITAL Ventures is simple: nature is what gave me my power back.
I share the full story in our blog post Transform Your Life Through Adventure, but the short version is this. I hiked the Grand Canyon, rim to rim to rim. 44 miles. Extreme heat. Extreme terrain. Three days completely unplugged, connected only to my people and the elements.
Standing in that canyon, and I mean inside it, not just looking down at it, something shifted. I was small. We are so small. Profoundly, humblingly small. And somehow, that smallness made me cry. It was the most relieving thing I'd ever felt. That crazy trek was my pilgrimage back to myself.
It's why I launched VITAL: to bring others into wild places and remind us what awe and wonder feel like. What relief feels like. Whether it's the canyon or your backyard - nature has always been, and always will be, here for you to come home to yourself.
Hiking the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites. 2025
What the Science Says
Before we get to the tips, a quick grounding in why this works - because it's not just a feeling.
From my friend and VITAL collaborator Dr. Kathy L. Grummon, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, writing in our blog last year:
"Time spent in natural environments functions as a reset for the nervous system. Cortisol - the body's primary stress hormone - decreases, quieting brain regions associated with worry and rumination. Feelings of emotional fatigue, mental fog, and irritability tend to subside."
And from Dr. Mary Ann Schaepper, MD, M.Ed, Board-Certified Psychiatrist:
"There's real change - biological, emotional, AND neurological - that happens when we move our bodies outdoors, especially in good company."
Read the full expert piece here
Now for the tips.
5 Things I’m Actually Doing to Reset My Nervous System
Just Walk. No Music. No Podcast. Just Go Outside.
I can sit at my desk all day and not get up. It is never my best day when I do that.
When I catch myself holding my breath, staring at the same project for the third time, reading the same sentence and not absorbing it - that's my signal. Not to push harder. To go outside and walk.
No agenda. No audio. Just movement and breath.
What I've learned: the walk doesn't solve the problem. It returns me to my body, so I can reapproach the problem differently. Every time.
The science behind it: Even 20-30 minutes of walking in a natural setting measurably lowers cortisol. Research published in Frontiers in Psychology found that just 20 minutes in nature - without exercising - was enough to significantly reduce stress hormone levels. Movement adds a second layer: it triggers the release of serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, all of which regulate mood and reduce anxiety.
Forest Bathing: Slow Down and Let the Trees Do the Work
I love introducing this practice to every VITAL experience - whether we're dropping into the Grand Canyon, hiking the Kenai Peninsula, or hitting the trails at Ward Pound Ridge. Before we move, we pause.
A little history: Forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, was developed in Japan in the 1980s as a public health initiative. The premise is straightforward: immerse yourself in a forest environment and let your senses land. No fitness goals. No distance targets. Just presence.
Research out of Japan found that forest bathing lowers blood pressure, reduces cortisol, boosts immune function, and measurably improves mood - sometimes for days after a single session.¹
How I do it on the trail: I invite the group to stop. Close your eyes for a moment. Then open them and notice - really notice. What do you hear? What's moving in the wind? What's the ground doing under your feet? What's the light like through the canopy? You don't need a forest. A neighborhood park works. A backyard does too. The key is slowing down enough to let your senses land.
"The trip was a wonderful way to be physically and mentally challenged while connecting with nature and like-minded folks. It kind of gave me a bit of a spiritual renewal - like you'd have walking the Camino - that I hadn't expected." - Tracy Craighead, VITAL Alaska participant
Meditate Outside - And Let Nature Be the Anchor
I've been practicing mindfulness meditation for several years. And one favorite to practice, for me, is outside.
Outside, with weather, wind and whatever the birds are doing.
The practice: Sit or walk slowly. Then simply listen to what you can hear around you. Not to analyze it. Just to receive it. The sounds become the anchor - they pull me out of my head and into the present moment faster than almost anything else I've found.
If you're new to meditation and the idea of sitting quietly feels impossible, start here. It's a guided walking meditation with Sebene Selassi, a meditation teacher I follow and respect. You will see that nature gives you something to pay attention to. It meets you where you are.
"I plan to keep hiking and staying connected to my physical wellbeing and to getting outside in nature." - Denise Nomura, VITAL Alaska participant
Seek Awe Deliberately
There is a specific kind of nervous system reset that only happens when something is bigger than you.
It’s what I experience in the Grand Canyon, the Kenai, and wild places. Researchers call it awe - and it has a measurable effect. Studies from UC Berkeley found that experiences of awe reduce inflammatory cytokines, quiet the default mode network (the brain's anxiety loop), and shift our attention from self-focused worry to something larger. It is, in the most literal sense, a nervous system intervention.
You don't need the Grand Canyon to find it. You need scale. A night sky. An old-growth tree. A river after heavy rain. A mountain ridge. The ocean at dawn.
Build awe into your week deliberately. Go somewhere that makes you feel small. Stay there for a few minutes and let it work.
"Perspective - feeling like just a moment in time, a brief visitor in the canyon." - Patricia Reilly, VITAL Rim to River participant describing the Grand Canyon feeling.
Move in Nature With Other People
Everything above works better with company.
When you move through nature alongside other people, your brain releases oxytocin - the bonding hormone. You sync your pace, your breath, your rhythm. You share the hard parts. You laugh at the unexpected parts. And something bonds that wouldn't bond over coffee or a Zoom call.
I've watched it happen on every single VITAL Adventure. People who are strangers at the trailhead are crew by the time they reach the summit.
"Committing to an adventure that pushed my limits was a powerful catalyst for personal growth that allowed me to discover reserves of strength and patience, build resilience, and gain perspective that enhanced my empathy." - Lissie O'Brien, VITAL Rim to Rim and VITAL Kenai participant
You don't need a VITAL Adventure to experience this. A weekly walk with a friend counts. A local hiking club counts. The point is: find your people and go outside together.
Lost Lake Trail, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Get Out There This Earth Week
If this post stirs something in you, I invite you to get outside this week. Put your phone away, go outside, and let nature work it’s magic.
And if you're curious about joining a VITAL Adventure - where we make a practice of all five of these, in some of the most wild and beautiful places on the planet - let's talk.
Happy Earth Day.
Libby
Chief Explorer & Founder, VITAL Ventures
Ready To Find Out What’s VITAL For You
Sources
¹ Li Q. Effects of forest environment (Shinrin-yoku/Forest bathing) on health promotion and disease prevention. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine. 2022.PMC9665958