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Unravel with Elaine Clark
Unravel, hosted by Elaine Clark, explores the intersection of mental health and physical health. Through expert interviews and insightful conversations, we uncover science-backed tools and practices for well-being and personal growth.
Whether you’re seeking to cultivate resilience, challenge misconceptions, or reconnect with your innate wisdom, Unravel offers the insights and guidance to support your journey.
Science meets embodiment. Let’s explore what it means to unravel the layers—together.
Unravel with Elaine Clark
27- Why Nature Calms Your Nervous System with Elaine Clark
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Maybe your nervous system is not asking for more discipline right now. Maybe it is asking for a different relationship to life. In this episode, I explore the connection between the nervous system and nature, and why time in natural environments may support stress recovery, emotional regulation, and a greater sense of inner settling. Drawing from both personal reflection and research, I speak about rumination, restoration, awe, and the quiet ways the body can begin to soften when it feels less overexposed and more rooted. This is an episode about healing, environment, and remembering that regulation is not just psychological — it is physiological too.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How nature may support the nervous system in shifting out of chronic activation
- What research suggests about rumination, stress recovery, and time spent in natural settings
- Why awe, slowness, and sensory contact with the natural world can feel regulating
- How to begin noticing which environments help your body soften and settle
- Why regulation is not laziness, and rest is not disengagement
Referenced Research & Resources
Antonelli, M., Barbieri, G., & Donelli, D. (2019). Effects of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) on levels of cortisol as a stress biomarker: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Biometeorology, 63(8), 1117–1134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-019-01717-x
Kobayashi, H., Song, C., Ikei, H., Park, B. J., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2019). Combined effect of walking and forest environment on salivary cortisol concentration. Frontiers in Public Health, 7, 376. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00376
Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2010). The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): Evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15(1), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-009-0086-9
Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8567–8572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510459112
Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M. A., & Zelson, M. (1991). Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 11(3), 201–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80184-7
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