A walk in nature is often recommended as a way to unwind. But what if being outdoors makes someone more alert, uncomfortable or even anxious? Sarah Histand, host of the Coregulation Conversations podcast, offers an interesting explanation in her episode “The Mental Health Benefits of Being Outside”: feeling at ease in a natural environment can be a learned skill.
Histand records the episode while hiking in Alaska’s Chugach Mountains. The setting is part of the discussion. She notices the sound of a creek, wind moving through vegetation and the changing ground beneath her feet. For an experienced hiker, taking in that information can feel almost automatic. For someone unused to outdoor environments, the same stream of sensations may demand considerable attention.
She connects this experience to orienting, a practice used in somatic approaches that involves noticing the surrounding environment through the senses. Outdoors, people naturally scan the path ahead, listen for sounds, register temperature and watch the weather. Those observations can help them make practical decisions about where to step, what to wear or whether to change course.
Histand is careful to acknowledge that more sensory input is not always soothing. An unfamiliar trail can bring uncertainty about footing, animals or changing conditions. What feels restorative to one person might initially be stressful to another. She argues that repeated experience can make it easier to interpret these signals and respond with confidence, rather than requiring constant conscious effort.
That is a useful alternative to treating nature as an instant remedy. Someone who feels uneasy on a first hike need not conclude that outdoor time is simply not for them. A shorter, familiar route may provide a more manageable place to practice noticing the surroundings. This is a practical implication of Histand’s account, not a claim that every outdoor setting is safe or that time outside replaces mental health care.
She also describes the pleasure of noticing things that feel welcoming: fresh air, a beautiful view or the movement of leaves. In somatic language, deliberately attending to such experiences can be a form of resourcing. The value lies partly in noticing what is actually present, rather than assuming that relaxation must arrive on command.
Histand’s episode ultimately makes a modest but helpful point: being outdoors is an active sensory experience, and becoming comfortable with that experience may take practice. The full conversation on Coregulation Conversations also considers movement, rhythm, awe and the ways people relate to the natural world.
Source: Coregulation Conversations / Mind & Mountain
Web: https://www.mindandmountain.co/podcasts/coregulation-conversations/episodes/2149256620
