Try This Simple Mood-Boosting Trifecta

One enjoyable behavior pulls a trio of levers to benefit physical health, mental well-being and outright happiness

Simply looking at this image might make you feel better, studies have suggested. But this article is about a surefire approach. Photo by the author

“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.”
—The late E.O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning Harvard biologist

After a rainy winter in the Southwest, the desert is painted improbably vibrant with yellow poppies, orange globe mallow and seas of purple something-or-others. On a recent crisp and sunny morning, my wife and I took a glorious hike through the carpets of color, enjoying a natural mood-booster that lasted the rest of the day.

Not to get all sciencey, but there are three well-studied factors that made this outing so uplifting, a trifecta of feel-good effects anyone can leverage to implant mood-boosting seeds that propagate long-term mental health benefits and physical well-being.

All you have to do is get out.

Seriously, folks, this couldn’t be simpler. Got a few minutes and some greenery nearby? I wager that’s a great start to enjoy the winning combination of…

Being in nature

Modern life can be awfully drab and uninspiring, structured by concrete, steel, artificial…