The 20-5-3 Rule
If there's one thing I know about us overachievers, it's that our minds are constantly on and running on 10. It’s such a double-edged sword--this ability is both a benefit and a detriment to us.
As for benefits, it is the source of our power. Our minds hum with ease and ability. We are able to outthink others around us and perform better because we're so skilled at completing the tasks before us. Our behavior is also self-reinforced since we are rewarded for our overachieving. Others compliment us on our work and we, in turn, feel good about the work.
As for detriments, this same behavior puts our bodies and minds on edge. Living in a constant state of on, we’ve trained our brains to be perpetually in a state of finding solutions. Our minds are constantly in overdrive. The biggest problem I find with my clients is the inability to turn it off at will.
Our superpower is also our Achilles heel.
So what is the solution?
Dr. Rachel Hopman, a neuroscientist at Northeastern University, conducts studies on relaxation and the brain. She came up with the Nature Pyramid to demonstrate her results. It’s kind of like the food pyramid, only instead of measuring consumption of food, it’s about measuring consumption of nature.
What she has found through her research is that time spent in nature has a big time chill and comforting effect that lasts long past the departure. People tend to carry the buzz with them for days or even weeks afterwards. They find a reduction of stress, a lowering of cortisol, and retain positive feelings that stay with them long past the visit ended.
20-5-3 Rule
Now I could just say, “Spend more time in nature. Periodt.”
That would be effectively the correct takeaway. But to be more helpful, she's come up with a very easy representation of these ideas. It's called the 20-5-3 rule.
Spend 20 minutes in nature three times per week.
This is fantastic for urban dwellers especially. In just as little as 20 minutes, your mental cognition improves. It also heightens your ability to work better when you're back inside. When you’re outside, what happens is we turn to “soft fascination mode”. Dr. Hopman describes this like a walking meditation without the meditation. Your mind is noticing, repairing, and filing away things in your mind, even if you’re not present to it.
Spend 5 hours continuously in nature one weekend per month.
More time gives you more benefits. So this 5 hours spent in nature will give you an even greater impact than the 20 minutes you do regularly. Our brain is trained to enjoy the randomness and the fractals of nature. What are fractals? It’s repeated patterns we see. For example, even though each tree is different, they all have trunks followed by branches followed by smaller branches. Our brain soaks in those repetitions and patterns when we’re in nature We’re wired this way.
Spend 3 days uninterrupted in nature once per year.
While this may seem like the biggest ask, it also comes with the greatest rewards. When you're in this kind of experience, you're riding the alpha waves, which are the same ones you ride when you're in a state of flow. The results are magnificent. It helps you “reset your thinking, boost creativity, tame burnout, and just make you feel better”. And it has an outsized effect--think weeks after!
Nature’s calling
All told, there’s nothing better than feeling better, so I encourage you to include this in your routine, especially if you’re an overachieving high performer. It’ll only add to the greatness you desire to feel.
