You've been stuck on the same problem for an hour. You go for a walk, and halfway round the block the answer turns up. That's not a coincidence.
What's happening
Walking gets your body moving and your eyes looking far away, the opposite of staring at a screen. Time in green spaces adds to it. In a 2019 study of about 20,000 people in England, Mathew White and colleagues found that people who spent at least 120 minutes a week in nature were more likely to report good health and wellbeing. It didn't matter whether that time came in one block or several shorter visits.
The tool: the two-hour week
Take one call a day on foot.
Spend 20 minutes outside at lunch, using the greenest route you can find.
Keep the phone in your pocket and look at things far away.
Add it up across the week and aim for two hours in total.
When to use it
When you're stuck, after a draining meeting, or as a fixed lunchtime habit.
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