The “20-minute park effect” has become popular, but what do you do in the park?

The “20-minute park effect” has become popular.

This spring, visiting parks has become one of the most popular activities on social platforms. And everyone has a theory to support skipping work to visit parks - according to the "20-minute park effect", as long as you stay outdoors for 20 minutes, you can relax your body, mind and soul .

Just find a street park and sit there and daydream, you will feel very comfortable｜Mai Mai

This statement is indeed based on evidence. For example, in a study published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2019, 36 respondents were asked to go outdoors three times a week, take a walk or sit and be in touch with nature, and spend more than 10 minutes each time. The researchers found that as long as the respondents stayed outdoors for 20 to 30 minutes, their cortisol (a hormone related to stress) levels would be significantly reduced .

Another study published in the same year in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research found that spending just 20.5 minutes in a park — whether exercising or doing nothing — would improve respondents’ subjective well-being and life satisfaction .

Staring at the sky is good, but there are many other things to do in the park, such as looking at trees, grass, birds, insects... When you focus on these specific lives, the abstract term "nature" will become concrete and vivid . Today we recommend some tips for visiting parks (this guide is not comprehensive enough, and friends are welcome to add to it in the collection section at the end of the article):

Looking down at the grass

With the arrival of spring, many small flowers commonly seen on lawns have sprouted. As long as you look down and pay attention, spring will not disappoint you.

If you are in a free shipping area, you will easily come across this blue-purple flower on the lawn - Arabian speedwell . The stems and leaves of Arabian speedwell grow prostrately, and the flowers are only about 1 cm. When in full bloom, they are like stars scattered on the lawn.

Arabian speedwell (Veronica persica). There are also many species of speedwell in my country｜Strobilomyces / Wikimedia Commons

The blue-purple wildflower in the north is the February orchid , also known as Zhugecai . The February orchid plant is taller and the flowers are larger. You can see a sea of ​​February orchids in many parks in Beijing.

The purple flowers may also be violets

Viola prionantha｜Amon

It's also easy to find clover in lawns. They have clover-like leaves with a distinct white stripe down the middle. They're also very eye-catching when they bloom.

White clover (Trifolium repens) is the mainstay of urban lawns, but they are also forage grasses | Mai Mai

Another "clover" is also easy to find - red sorrel , a small grass flower native to tropical America, which is now everywhere.

Oxalis corymbosa｜Minghong / Wikimedia Commons

If you are lucky, you can also find orchids in the lawn. The most common wild orchid in the south in spring is the swaying grass . Unlike the common orchids that are quite flamboyant, the flowers of the swaying grass are only 5 mm in size, but they form spiral inflorescences, which are not difficult to identify if you look carefully.

Spiranthes sinensis | Sphl / Wikimedia Commons; Spiranthes sinensis seeds

There are too many small flowers on the lawn to count. For more small flowers on the lawn in spring, you can review this article a few days ago: "What kind of grass is the two-meter-high grave grass?"

Look up at the tree

When it comes to viewing flowers in spring, the inevitable problem comes up again: how to distinguish between plum, plum, cherry, pear, crabapple...ah?!

If you come across the yellow bell tree , you will definitely be attracted by it. When it is in full bloom, the branches of the yellow bell tree are leafless, and the bare branches are crowded with clusters of bright yellow flowers, which are very eye-catching.

It is hard not to notice the yellow bell tree (Handroanthus chrysanthus | Michelia

In the Pearl River Delta, the bright red kapok trees are also hanging on the branches.

Not only does it hurt if the kapok tree (Bombax ceiba) hits your head, but it also really leaves fluff｜Pixabay

Many plants may be easiest to remember only when they are in bloom. When you visit the park recently, don't forget to look up at the plants around you. This may be the best time to identify them.

Crouching to watch insects

To some people, insects may be inconspicuous, unlovable, or even scary. But the following insects are easy to spot if you pay attention . During your 20 minutes in the park, you might as well pay some attention to them.

The Pieris Annunciationis is widely distributed and can even be seen all year round in southern China. Their wings are black with grayish-white patches on the front and lemon yellow patches on the back. The large red patches at the base are their most conspicuous features.

Look familiar, right? The eggs of the Delias pasithoe are also very cute.｜Albert / Wikimedia Commons

The citrus swallowtail butterfly is also common in China. Like many of its relatives in the family Papilionidae, the citrus swallowtail butterfly has a caudal process on its hind wings, making it easy to identify.

The Citrus Swallowtail (Papilio xuthus) is very similar to the Golden Swallowtail | maxpixel

The yellow dragonfly is the most common dragonfly in China. They have the standard dragonfly appearance: large compound eyes, short antennae, and two pairs of wings covered with dense wing veins spread evenly on both sides of the body.

This is the yellow dragonfly (Pantala flavescens) | Wu Xiaoka is a good kid

If you see a dragonfly with its two pairs of wings erected when resting, it is likely to be a damselfly , also known as a cōng . Their bodies are much thinner than those of yellow dragonflies, and when mating, the male and female damselflies will form a heart shape.

Damselflies mating | nextdoornature.org

The seven-spotted ladybug is probably an insect that many people have known since childhood. There are many members of the family Coccinellidae . They have similar body shapes, but different colors and patterns. By the way, the number of stars on a ladybug has nothing to do with whether it is a pest or not. Next time, you might want to observe how many stars a ladybug you encounter has.

The color and number of spots of Harmonia axyridis are very variable. | entomart / Wikimedia Commons

Listen to the birds

If you are lucky, you can encounter birds in the park within 20 minutes.

Many parks with large water surfaces have mallards in their ponds. The male mallard has a metallic green head, which is a structural color. The color changes with the angle of light. In contrast, the female, which is brown overall, is much more low-key.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) male and female, but in some seasons the males do not have green heads｜Hu Yunbiao

The white-crowned bulbul is also a bird that is relatively easy to see in cities. It is named after the white feathers on the back of its head and is also commonly known as "white-headed bulbul".

However, the subspecies of white-crowned bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) in Guangdong and Guangxi is not white｜Charles Lam / Wikimedia Commons

If you pay close attention, you may even be able to hear the singing of a white-crowned bulbul:

The spotted dove is also easy to identify, its neck looks like a circle of small, dense white pearls.

The spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) has become popular in recent years because of its overly sloppy house | Red-billed blue magpie

And you must be familiar with the cooing sound of the spotted dove.

In April and May, in mountainous areas, you may still hear the famous "It's hard to be single", which is the call of the four-note cuckoo :

But it may be difficult to see their full picture, as the four-note cuckoo mostly moves in the tree canopy.

The Four-note Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus) is easily confused with the Great Cuckoo. Rejaul karim.rk / Wikimedia Commons

Looking at the sky and clouds

In addition to watching birds and flowers, you can also look up at the clouds.

Cumulonimbus clouds viewed from a distance | World meteorological organization

Low cloud family (wavy and layered) Stratocumulus | World meteorological organization

Altocumulus (flocculate) clouds of the mesocene family | World meteorological organization

Now it's your turn! What would you like to share about 20 minutes in the park? For example, how to skip work? Where do you like to go during these 20 minutes? What do you like to do? What are the fun or memorable discoveries? In addition to the park, where else do you recommend to heal your soul?