My Favorite 'Treatment' for Long Covid

I get tired of downing supplements and pills, tired of being so careful about what I eat, tired of compression socks and ice vests, tired of adhering to a sleep schedule, and tired of pacing my activities. None of these behaviors are intrinsically rewarding. You won’t find me sighing with contentment as I struggle into my compression socks or smacking my lips with pleasure as I swallow another handful of pills. I do all of this, to put it plainly, because it’s better than feeling like shit. It’s better than being unable to function.    

There’s something else I do every day that I believe adds just as much to my well-being as all of these other efforts combined. And this thing happens to be intrinsically rewarding, motivated by pure enjoyment. Every day, I spend time mindfully interacting with nature.

A growing body of scientific research suggests that time spent in nature (or even just viewing pictures of natural scenes) offers a host of health benefits. Here are just a few of them that strike me as particularly relevant to long-haulers: improved blood pressure, improved immune response, increased energy, increased heart rate variability, improved autonomic function, increased parasympathetic activity, decreased stress levels, and improved cognitive functioning. These wide-ranging benefits are hardly surprising when you consider the amount of time that our hunter-gatherer ancestors must have spent outdoors. Bees evolved to thrive alongside flowers, fish evolved to thrive in water, polar bears evolved to thrive in cold climates, and humans—well, we certainly didn’t evolve to thrive in cubicles. We would laugh at research confirming that bees are healthiest when living near flowers, fish are healthiest when living in water, and polar bears are healthiest when living in the Arctic. (Duh!) And yet we are culturally conditioned to live as if spending time in nature is an optional hobby or leisure activity rather than a biological necessity, essential to health—much like sleep, clean water, and nutritious food.    

For anyone living with chronic illness or disability, there is a catch-22 in all of this. Health is improved by time spent in nature, but health limitations can make it difficult or impossible to get outside. Even if you are well enough to physically go outside, what do you do once you get there, particularly if you aren’t well enough for traditional forms of outdoor recreation? Here’s a short list of long-hauler friendly ways to engage with nature, including a few for days when you aren’t well enough to physically go outside:

• While resting, listen to nature sounds. This can be as simple as opening your window or playing a recording of birdsong or water sounds.

• Watch the clouds. You can do this lying inside near a window or outside. (If you’re lying in the grass, be sure to check yourself for ticks afterward!)

• Befriend a tree. Sit with it every day for five or ten or twenty minutes.

• Care for a houseplant (or two, or ten)!

• Ask friends and family to send you pictures of their favorite flowers, trees, or nature scenes. Build a collection of photos that soothe or inspire you, and take the time to mindfully look at them.

• Take an activity that you usually do indoors—eating, reading, working, meditating—and try it outside instead. (If you have issues with heat intolerance, I can’t say enough about how much wearing an ice vest is helping me this summer!)

• Go for a slow stroll. Use your slow pace as an opportunity to become more aware of your senses. What does the air feel like against your skin? What sounds do you hear? Do the trees or plants around you have a smell?    

• Try a virtual forest bathing walk with me! (Post a comment or reply to this email to let me know you’re interested, and I’ll work another one into my schedule.)

I’d love to hear about the ways that you interact with nature. What feels soothing and health-promoting to you? What obstacles get in the way?