| Key Takeaways |
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| • "Touch grass" refers to going offline and stepping outside for a bit. • Cutting back on screen time improves mental focus and reduces eye strain. • Ways to "touch grass" include hiking, gardening, birdwatching, and camping. |
We all are on our devices way too much. Maybe someone even has suggested you “touch grass,” meaning you should unplug for a while. Whether or not that’s true, stepping away from our screens does wonders for our health.
Cutting back on screen time is a walk in the park once you get started, but if you don’t know where to begin, LawnStarter compiled these 7 ways to touch grass:
1. Go Outside
We know that moving our bodies benefits cardiovascular health, but a UC Davis study also found that spending time outside helps to relax our minds. Taking breaks from screens can improve focus, enhance problem-solving skills, and increase relaxation.
Time in nature has a decluttering effect on our brains, lowering cortisol levels while raising dopamine and serotonin.
2. Get Active
If you’re not the outdoorsy type, you might struggle knowing what to do outside. Join a walking group, or take your hobbies outside. You can just as easily exercise, play an instrument, or practice yoga in your backyard as you can indoors.
Screen-free things to do outside:
- Go birdwatching
- Try Tai Chi
- Have a picnic
- Go fishing
- Play with your kids
- Fly a kite
- Go glamping
- Walk barefoot on grass
- Practice yoga
3. Savor Life
Gardening is my preferred way to touch grass. Whether you grow your own vegetables or collect blooms for bouquets like me, nurturing plant life teaches us important lessons.
I think a lot about relationships and communication when I garden: Each plant has unique needs, and respecting those needs yields the best results.
Perhaps the key to solving the empathy shortage we see online is in the garden.
4. Grow House Plants
Not everyone has a space for a garden, but everyone can enjoy houseplants.
Whether your home is warm, cold, dry, or humid, there’s a houseplant for every household. Houseplants filter toxins like formaldehyde and benzene from the air while boosting oxygen levels.
Indoor gardening provides the same meditative benefits as outdoor gardening, plus houseplants boost creativity and productivity by 15%; so when it’s time to focus, you’ll be well-prepared.
Place your plants near screens, such as the corner by your TV, or on the windowsill in your office. Make a point to admire them throughout the day. Optometrists recommend looking away from your screens every 20 minutes, and gazing at your plants will lift your mood.
5. Talk to the Trees
Touch grass by talking to trees. Here’s how: Stand near a tree branch and ask it to touch you (as you can see many people do in this viral tree trend). The tree will reach out to you even if the wind is blowing its branches in the opposite direction.
Enjoy the rush of oxytocin, the “love hormone,” as you connect (literally) with nature and make a habit of talking to the trees.
What other natural wonders are waiting to connect with you? You’ll never find out by staring at a screen.
6. Use a Screen Control App
The average American spends 7 hours a day looking at screens. For those who need accountability, there are apps to help you regain control.
The Touch Grass App forces you to upload a picture of your hand touching grass before you can use apps that you identified as addictive.
So, if you doomscroll on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, you would need to prove you’ve touched grass to unlock the app. The software can distinguish between real and fake grass, too, so you can’t cheat.
Merely touching the soil will make you feel better. Mycobacterium vaccae, a harmless soil bacterium, acts as an antidepressant.
Forest App is helpful for those who struggle to focus. This app lets you set a timer (up to 120 minutes), and as long as you stay in the app, a tree will grow. If you exit out of the app, your tree will perish. Fully grown trees remain in the app to form a forest.
It’s rewarding to see your trees and forest grow while you focus on productivity.
You could also use the timer to meditate in nature.
7. Make Touching Grass a Habit
Incorporate touching grass into your routine.
Turn off your notifications and combine tasks with touching grass. For example, talk to the houseplants as you wash your hands, or eat lunch outside whenever possible.
Schedule your screen time as a reward. For instance, after I wipe down the counters and empty the dishwasher, I’ll treat myself to 10 minutes of screen time. Use apps like Freedom and Opal to hold yourself accountable.
Savor life outside your home. Mow your grass or breathe in the smell of freshly mowed grass after a little cut across the top from a local LawnStarter lawn care pro. Touch grass doesn’t even have to involve grass. Just step outside and see the trees, squirrels, rabbits, and flowers in bloom.
Before bedtime, unwind, Replace nightly scrolling with healthier habits, like reading or wind-down meditations.
There are many ways to limit your screen time at any age, and any way you choose to do so will benefit your physical and mental health. So, do yourself a favor and touch some grass.
Main Photo Credit: A grandfather and his grandson share a joyful embrace while lying in the grass. Monkey Business / Adobe Stock
