How spending time outside daily is good for you

Published: 30/08/2016

It's easy to forget to make time to enjoy the outdoors, especially when you work 40+ hours a week. However, even a quick 10 minute walk during your lunch break could vastly improve your whole day! Below are 9 inspiring reasons why everyone should spend more time outside and make it part of our normal daily routine!

1. Being outside can help to put things into perspective. 

Rachel Kazez, who works for All Along - a company which offers therapy solutions, discusses how spending more time outside vastly improves your mood and helps you think clearly. 'I am a Chicago-based therapist and the founder of All Along, a service that solves the search for therapy. Being outside helps in so many ways! Two main ones are that natural light is incredibly healthy for the brain, and being outside reminds people that the world is bigger than themselves. Being inside all the time can lead to some tunnel vision in which people forget that there is a world more diverse than their hobbies and personal contacts, which can lead to depression and anxiety. '

2. Outdoor physical activity makes you look and therefore feel fantastic!

Caroline Turben, garden blogger for Extravagant Gardens, gives her personal opinion on what makes her love spending time outside. 'I'm a garden blogger and spend loads of time in my gardens. Aside from the small moments of joy when a plant you've coaxed into blooming actually blooms, or walking by a rose and stopping for a sniff, my greatest mood lifter is the physical rewards. I'm not a gym person and during the winter I get a bit soft, by the end of the northeastern garden season I look great, I'm toned, I'm tanned (despite sunscreen) and I generally feel fabulous.'

3. Fitting an outdoor activity into your daily routine makes you feel in control.

Jennifer Thomé, author and writer, discusses how finding time for the outdoors during your normal daily routine can make you feel more in control. 'Stepping away from your daily routine and into nature makes you feel in charge of your life! I teach my mentees to go for a walk at work everyday. It's your chance to stand up, say: This is my life! And take 15 minutes to yourself. This also lowers cortisol and increases testosterone, improving your mood and function for the remainder of the day.'

4. Relaxing outside is generally a cheap way to blow off some steam. 

Lindsey Cummins, CEO of Winq - a social app for millennials, discussed with us a survey they carried out with the social app users to see why they enjoyed being outside. The top three reasons were;

• To blow off steam and lower stress;
• To boost energy;
• To feel healthier.

So the results show that by far the majority of people find that spending time outside helps them to blow of steam and relax a little. Most of the time, it costs nothing to go for a little walk, so it's a cheap way to enjoy some downtime.

5. Activities which are usually done outside normally involve other people - so it's a great way to socialise!

Brad, a new blogger over (and nature lover) at trailstreesandskiis.com, discusses some reasons on why he enjoys being outside so much. 'Being active outside is often a group activity. Socialising can help increase moods even in introverted individuals who value alone time.'

6. 'Schumann resonance.'

Elaine Wilkes, Hay House author of highly acclaimed, award winning book Nature’s Secret Messages: Hidden in Plain Sight, goes into some interesting depth on why we feel so much better outside. 'The Earth has a frequency (called “Schumann resonance”) which is the same as a relaxed brain and heart. Like a tuning fork, when you go into nature, you tune into this calm frequency. If you’re feeling stressed out, take off your shoes and walk on the grass or anywhere on a natural surface. You can feel a similar effect by being immersed in the ocean.'

7. Our skin uses sunlight to produce Vitamin D, which can help to improve many different forms of mental illnesses. 

Jared Heathman, Psychiatrist for Your Family Psychiatrist, discusses the importance of Vitamin D: 'Obtaining direct sunlight daily, in moderation, can improve mental health. Our skin uses sunlight to produce Vitamin D. Vitamin D is used throughout the body serving many purposes beyond bone health. A vitamin D deficiency can be a contributing cause to clinical depression. Exposure to direct sunlight can help your body produce sufficient vitamin D, but be sure to moderate exposure. Excessive sunlight can result in burns and skin cancer.'

8. Just because it's fun. 

Sara Pascoe, Author, chats to us on why enjoying time outside bring you joy. 'Fun is Good. Getting outside is plain old enjoyable. And there ain't nothing wrong with that. Fun has been shown to be...fun. Increases mood and reduces anxiety and stress.' Simple.

9. There's nothing a beautiful sunset can't fix. 

Just looking at pictures of a stunning sunset is enough to lift your mood, never mind seeing it in the flesh! Dane Homenick, a Sailor who spends a lot of his time at sea finds the sunset the best way to cure any bad mood; 'Thinking about how the outdoors makes you happy and a couple things come to mind: The calming of a sunset: nothing relaxes me more than sitting on the deck of our sailboat and watching the sun set. It helps wind down my mind after a long day. The refreshing of a morning dip: getting in the water is a mandatory thing for me, daily. My favorite time is first thing in the morning when the sun has just broken above the fold. It starts my systems, refreshing me entirely, and gets me excited for the day ahead.' So the next time you're feeling stressed or overworked give yourself a break; go for a nice walk around the park, take off your shoes and feel the grass under your feet or simply relax in your very own garden and take in all that fresh air!   Uplifting blog posts relating to gardening and the outdoors! If you've enjoyed reading this post then we think you might enjoy reading these:   Child Mind Institute - Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature