Caregiver Self-Care: Take a 20-Minute Nature Pill
Caregivers experience high levels of stress. We are overwhelmed, feel isolated from friends and family, we're anxious about how to best care for our loved one, and we're often grieving the changes that are happening for our loved one, and in our own lives. 
Self-care for caregivers is not a luxury; it's critical to protecting our physical and mental health. Self-care isn't just pedicures and massages. There a multiple free, readily accessible ways to lower stress and feel better. 
One way to improve our mental health is by spending time outside. 
A 2019 study in Frontiers in Psychology asked adults to spend at least 10 minutes, three times a week, in any outdoor place that felt like nature. Researchers measured cortisol (the main stress hormone) before and after. The biggest drop happened in the 20-to-30-minute window, with cortisol falling at a rate of about 21% per hour during that period (<u>Hunter et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 2019</u>). A 2025 follow-up at the Medical University of Vienna found similar reductions after 20 minutes in a wooded area (<u>MedUni Vienna, 2025</u>).
Twenty minutes. That's it. And it doesn't have to be a forest.
A few options that count as "nature" for the body:
- A walk around the block, noticing the birds, squirrels, and plants.
- Sitting on a porch with a coffee while looking at the trees.
- Watering plants on a patio.
- Pulling weeds in a small garden bed.
Spending time outdoors is good for you - and the person you're caring for. This is something you can enjoy together, and you will both benefit. A short walk together provides light exercise, sun on the face (which helps sleep), and time with you that isn't about a task. It's time connecting AND getting that much-needed dose of the outdoors. 
If twenty minutes isn't possible today, do five. The benefit is real even at lower doses (<u>Harvard Health, 2019</u>).
Outside is one of the few free, evidence-backed treatments for caregiver stress. Use it.
Sources: <u>*Frontiers in Psychology — 20-Minute Nature Pill (Hunter et al., 2019)*</u>; <u>*Harvard Health — A 20-Minute Nature Break Relieves Stress*</u>; <u>*MedUni Vienna — 20 Minutes in a Forest Reduces Stress, 2025*</u>.