13 Benefits to Spending Time Outdoors

One of the things that I learned during the 2020 pandemic was how healing it is to be in touch with nature.

 My first inclination when we were asked to isolate ourselves was not to connect electronically, which I thought seemed artificial and unnatural, but to truly isolate and to take this as a strong nudge from nature to self reflect and reexamine the choices that got me to where I am. I felt like this is what the whole world needed to do, but I was only in charge of myself so I did it quietly. I removed myself from my work and from social media and read philosophy books and meditated a lot. I also found myself taking my dog to the park a lot and noticing how just a few minutes in the park could totally change my day. 

I was once opposed to teaching my Nia classes outside. I felt I needed a controlled indoor environment so that I could properly deliver the type of experience I was accustomed to. But gradually, with the help of some clients who I was training in the park twice weekly, I came to appreciate and then love and then finally prefer to teach outdoors over being indoors. Now that it's time to re-open and classes are starting up again, I am hesitant to bring everything back inside.  There is so much glorious beauty and healing benefit to being outside, that I have come to look forward to and relish. 

 Hippocrates said "Nature itself is the best physician" and he was considered the Father of Western Medicine. But we've moved far, far away from that doctrine to a place where now going outside is very rarely done except to walk from our buildings to our cars. And our health has paid the price. In addition to proper diet and exercise, drinking water and getting sufficient sleep, being outside is one of the pillars of good health. As a sort of reminder of why it's so important, I have compiled a list of 13 reasons why it is beneficial to spend a little bit of time outside every day. 

1. Life Satisfaction. This is something I noticed right away. I was pretty upset and bewildered by the pandemic and often worried about our uncertain future, as were many of us. But I noticed I felt a little bit better as soon as I arrived at the park. I live in an urban area, but the park is just a few short blocks away. And once I was in the grass, sitting on a rock, I could feel my troubles melting away.  It was shown, in a recent study that after spending only 20 minutes in an urban park setting, people reported a 64% improvement in life satisfaction. Imagine adding a 64% boost in life satisfaction to all the other benefits of doing Nia!  Do it outside!
2. Sunshine elevates Vitamin D. It is estimated that about 40% of Americans are Vitamin D deficient. Not surprising when you consider how little time we spend outside. We make Vitamin D when we are exposed to the suns UVB rays, which do not travel through glass, so time sitting inside near a window does not count. Very few foods contain sufficient Vitamin D. Its deficiency has been linked to depression, osteoporosis, muscle weakness and cancer. It is recommended to get about 15 minutes of direct midday sun exposure three times per week to ensure ideal levels of Vitamin D. Darker skinned people need to expose themselves to a bit more sun than lighter skinned people due to higher levels of melanin. 
3. Lower blood pressure. Nitric oxide stored in the top layer of our skin reacts to sunlight and causes our blood vessels to widen, which lowers blood pressure. High blood pressure is known as the silent killer because so many people have it and it does not present any symptoms. But people with high blood pressure have a much higher likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke. So avoiding sunlight, or using sunblock all the time, is now considered a risk for heart disease. The experts recommend a moderate amount of sun exposure to prevent that risk. 
4. Lower Inflammation. When I was in massage school I remember being taught that inflammation could be considered the root cause of almost all bodily diseases. It is linked to things from autoimmune disease to depression and even cancer. Many studies have shown that spending time in natural, green spaces, reduces inflammation. 
5. Better Eyesight. A Canadian study found that spending time in nature reduces the risk of myopia (nearsightedness). It went on to say that nearly 1/3 of adults suffer from myopia in developed countries. We used to be told that it was due to spending too much time reading books or watching TV, but now they're saying that a larger contributor is simply not spending enough time outdoors. So even more important than eating carrots, get outside and play with your children. 
6. Sleep Better. A study of 250,000 people by Stanford Medicine concluded that increasing the amount of time spent outdoors, improved the quality of sleep. Especially for men over the age of 65. The researchers recommended "if there is a way for persons over 65 to spend time in nature, it would improve the quality of their sleep". I can attest to sleeping much better since I made going outside a regular part of my daily routine. And I have been waking up earlier, feeling more refreshed. 
7. Burn More Calories. Our bodies' ability to consume oxygen and balance carbon dioxide levels are increased when we are outside. The unpredictable terrain, whether its grass, sand, rocks, trees or whatever natural surface you're working on, we have to use more muscles to adapt than you would in a nice, predictable hardwood floor surface. You also need to adjust for temperature changes when its not a controlled environment. And you have to adapt to wind resistance, pot holes, cars, hills, or whatever is in the environment. All of this adds up to using more energy. 
8. Increased Happiness. An author named Florence Williams conducted a year long self-study of her own happiness and concluded that spending time with friends, vacationing, listening to music and of course spending time outdoors all made her incredibly happy. A study from 2015 found that people who walked through the woods reported an better improved mood over those who walked through an urban area. It went on to report an improvement in memory and cognition. 
9. Stress, Anxiety and Depression Reduction. The Japanese practice something called "Forest Bathing" which is simply to spend some time in the forest to improve mental health. Natural environments have been shown to lower cortisol (the stress hormone) and lead to improvement in health, memory and concentration, improve sleep disorders and reduce anxiety and depression. 
10. Recovery and Pain Relief. Some research done at Royal Roads University showed that post surgery patients require less pain management through medication when they spend time daily in an outdoor setting. It is also recommended to chronic pain sufferers that they can get better results by doing exercises in nature. 94% of the respondents experiencing chronic pain reported that being in nature improved their mood. The study concluded that 'green exercise' should be included as part of a treatment plan for chronic pain. 
11. Immunity Boost. Largely due to the relaxed state that nature induces, it has been shown that spending time outdoors assists in warding off maladies such as diabetes, ADHD, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Forests, in particular, were cited as beneficial due to the phytoncides produced by plants, which increase our bodies' production of defensive "killer" cells. Sun exposure, also, strengthens T-cell production which helps fight off infections. 
12. Increased Likelihood of Being Social. People who socialize live longer. An active social life leads to feelings of well-being, improved immune system function and greater empathy. Social interaction improves mental health and can ward off dementia. I realize that these things could be accomplished by meeting with groups of people indoors, but I put it here because I've noticed that when I'm outdoors, I'm more likely to run into and interact with people I don't know than when I'm in an enclosed space. 
13. Fosters Creativity. What I particularly love about exercising outdoors is the unpredictable nature of it. The ground being uneven. Maybe wet and slippery, maybe rocky or sandy. These tiny little challenges force us to be more creative in how to navigate through the terrain. It takes very little thought or imagination to walk across a flat hardwood floor, but can really take some concentration to traverse a babbling brook or walk over a pile of rocks. Another way it can foster creativity is by getting us away from our technology. Without being plugged in, we rely more on our imagination and creativity to entertain and challenge ourselves. 

So I hope some of these things inspired you to get outside a little bit every day. Hope to see you in the trees! However, all of this being said, it doesn't have to be in a fancy park. Here is a video of me taking a break from a long day of driving through Texas to spend five minutes moving my body on some grass in the sunshine. 

This was actually in a Honda Dealership parking lot!  So you can get creative about where you find "green spaces"

I have made it an important part of my life and it has improved my physical and mental health. The local park is such a superior venue for workouts than the local gym. If you would like some guidance on how to get started enjoying this healthy, natural resource, please connect with me. Ask me for an introductory primer lesson and I will gladly show you the ropes.