Taking care of yourself is more than just eating right & exercising. The outdoors is full of benefits check out our list on why you need to spend more time outside.
7 Tips On Why we Need to Spend More Time Outside
There are many days where our life seems extremely fast-paced and packed with screens both from our computers or tablets. Between taking care of the kids, cleaning, cooking, work, connecting on social media, and watching old reruns the more time is spent inside is up more than ever. Unfortunately, all this indoor time can also leave a negative impact on our health and even our children’s as well. How about we unplug and actually spend a few moments outside for once? Below are a few reasons why this can help you and your family more reasons than you can think.
- Diminish Stress Levels: You might have experienced more stress than normal, especially now that many of us are working from home, attempting with schoolwork or running a business. Did you know that taking a walk in nature can help reduce your stress levels? Even taking a walk in a green area can put your brain in a meditative state which if you don’t live near a forest. This can help reduce your blood pressure, heart rate, and improve your mood.
- Enjoy Your Friends/Neighbors: Lots of gatherings are slowly starting to happen outdoors again so enjoy your backyard or cul-de-sac hang outs again with friends and neighbors. If you don’t think your neighborhood is ideal, maybe it’s time for you to move to a new area to enjoy the safety and fun that a neighborhood can bring to your family. Finding the house and neighborhood might be simple, but gathering all your items to move there is another hassle. Call the professionals over at Best West Moving to assist you to move across town or just to assist in moving your heavy items like pool tables and safes in the Los Angeles area. No matter what your concern, they are there to help move you and your possessions carefully to your new forever home and neighborhood.
- Help Your Eyes– You might have heard of several studies that have shared that staring in front of your screen for hours at a time is terrible for your eyes. Scientists have also reported that for children, too much screen time indoors can actually create irreversible change in their eyes as they get older. If the weather is nice, make sure you are spending it outdoors, especially if you have children ages 7-15. It’s not only awful for children but also adults. Those that spend a lot of time in front of screens suffer from dry eye syndrome and also may have trouble focusing on something more distant.
- Getting Some Vitamin D– Before the weather turns dark and cold, one of the best ways to get vitamin D is spending it outdoors. We need to get sunlight and the foods that we eat naturally also contain Vitamin D but don’t have enough to satisfy our optimal requirements. Your body’s best source of Vitamin D is the sun. Try to get at least 15 minutes of direct sun exposure on your skin every day and the fresh air will help too.
- Assist In Sleeping Heavier – Has it been difficult sleeping lately? Remember when you were a kid and you spent all your free time outdoors for hours at a time. Do you remember how good you slept after a hard day like that? The same goes for you as an adult too. Similar to sunlight, spending time outdoors is also your body’s natural rhythm and your sleep cycle is likely to suffer if you don’t spend time outdoors.
- Help Your Movement – When we go outside, we naturally move. Have you noticed when you are out in the sun you also tend to be more physically active. If you are outside and are biking or running you obviously exert more energy and burn more calories than if you were to use just a treadmill.
- Feeling Happier And Have More Energy – Those who walk outside more also leaves you having more energy and feeling happier. Time outside really does benefit your mental wellbeing and boosts your levels of serotonin in your brain which is your ‘feel good’ transmitter. More energy and feeling happier also results in you doing better with work, feeling your best and then transferring this good energy onto your family and friends.
Some may say they only want to spend time outside if the sun is out but honestly, it shouldn’t matter the weather. Dress for colder weather if you need too, bundle in layers and go on a brisk walk to get a chance of scenery. Believe me, it will do you good to spend the time outside and your children will follow along too. What are some other tips you can think of to spend more time outdoors? Are there other ways you share to help your kids enjoy the outdoors as well?