Sabrina Carpenter‘s mom has some advice for her when she’s stressed out: touch grass.
And no, she doesn’t mean the Gen Z slang for people who spend too much time online.
Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe to discuss her latest album, “Short n’ Sweet,” which drops today, the 25-year-old pop star said she wanted to give her mom a “shout out.”
“A couple of weeks ago, it was a lot for me, and I wasn’t doing too great. And my mom was like, ‘You need to go outside, and I want you to put your feet on the grass and the dirt,'” said Carpenter, whose ad-lib outros of her pop hit, “Nonsense,” have gone viral.
She said her mom continued, “Your feet need to touch ground. They’ve been touching the inside of your house, or the plane, or hotels. They need to touch the actual earth.”
Carpenter, who rose to prominence for starring in Disney’s “Girl Meets World,” added that her mom told her to read a book — just a couple of chapters — and “literally just be a person.”
The “Espresso” singer said she thought it was “stupid.” Still, she went outside, took her shoes off, and felt her feet in the dirt.
It worked — “It was so sweet, and it did help me,” she said. “That was advice that I will remember when things are a bit too much.”
As it turns out, Carpenter also discovered she was allergic to grass — “I found that out after, but it’s fine!”
It’s scientifically proven that being in nature can reduce stress
Reconnecting with nature has multiple health benefits, Business Insider reported in May last year.
A 2010 study from the University of Essex analyzed 10 UK studies involving 1,252 participants. It found that being in nature improved self-esteem and mood. Those with mental illnesses, in particular, had the greatest improvements in their self-esteem.
Another study in Japan analyzed the effects of forest bathing on 280 participants from 2005 to 2006. The researchers found that being in a forest environment decreased stress hormone concentrations and lowered blood pressure.
Getting movement outside can also help one to process difficult emotions. Annabel Lee previously wrote for BI that she “rage walks” when she gets stressed out at work.
“Being outside almost always improves difficult days or bad moods,” she wrote. “A rage walk resets the scales, and I come back feeling more like myself and able to cope more healthily.”
A representative for Carpenter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
