Why is being outdoors so good for you?

There is nothing more magical than being outdoors, the fresh air, the wind in your hair, the sun on your face.

It just feels amazing, but its more than just how it makes you feel, it is also how many benefits it has for your mind, body and soul.

The way the world is right now there has never been a bigger need for the benefits that being outdoors can bring.

WHAT CAN WE DO OUTDOORS?

1. GROUNDING

Grounding can also be called earthing; it is a technique that involves doing activities that “ground” you, allowing you to reconnect you to the earth’s energy.

Recent studies have shown it can have healing abilities, relieve pain, stress, and help with fatigue.

Ways you can ground are walking barefoot on the grass, if you are lucky lay on a sandy beach and also if you are brave delve into (safe) cold clear lake or swim in the ocean.

This just makes you feel alive again, you can physically feel the earths energy running through your body. I highly recommend this.

2. OUTDOOR EXERCISE

There are so many forms of exercise you can do outside, the simplest being walking, to the more adventurous kind like surfing in the sea.

If you need a little bit more than walking, hitting a hiking trail could be the one for you, this helps build muscle, clears your head and the added bonus of getting fresh air. You can burn over 350 calories in one hour when trekking uphill.

Get your bike out of the garage, dust it off for a full body workout, this is very popular form of exercise for all ages. Burning up to 500 calories in one hour.

Outdoor HIIT, for those who don’t know what this is, it is “high intensity interval training”, this can be done in 20-25 minutes and the fat burn effect takes your fitness and calorie burning to the next level.

For those of you who enjoy yoga, take yourself outside onto the grass to do your session, you can also reap the benefits of grounding and soaking up the earth’s energy.

3. GARDENING

Gardening has been around forever, gardening not only gives you plants, or even food but it can also give some people a lot of pleasure.

It is a way to relax, refocus and connect with nature. This can improve mental health and social skills if you are working with a friend. Also, this can be a way of grounding.

4. EAT

Eating outdoors is one of the best ways to spend outside, some friends, your favourite food, music and hopefully some sunshine.

You can enjoy a BBQ, lunch at the local restaurant (obviously in their gardens) or even just a picnic in the park.

The world is your oyster, choose your favourite place with your favourite people and enjoy.

The list goes on, there are so many things you can do outdoors, but what are the benefits I hear you ask?

THE BENEFITS OF BEING OUTDOORS

1. IT RELIEVES ANXIETY

Sunlight can help boost your serotonin levels, this will raise your energy/vibe keeping you calm and focused, feelings of positivity flooding your body.

Being in nature automatically makes you feel better, it relieves stress and any anger you may be holding.

2. IT AIDS YOUR SLEEP ROUTINE

In today’s world with all the lighting, television, laptops and phones our natural distinction to, day and night has become fuzzy. Our body clock craves natural light and darkness, it helps our body’s do what it is meant to do for instance, rise with the sun and relax to enter a deep sleep when the sun goes down.

If you are not working with your body’s natural response to, day and night, it can have so many negative effects on the body, mood disorders and poor cognitive response.

So, filling your days with natural sunlight, and lessen the use of harsh lighting as the evening progresses, your melatonin (sleep hormone) levels will rise, and this will help you sleep more naturally and for longer.

Try teaching your body to go into a natural sleep rhythm, build a good bedtime routine which starts throughout the day with lots of outdoor activities.

3. BETTER IMMUNITY

Like our parents used to say, a dirty child was a healthy child or was that a happy child haha.. anyway, being outdoors allows your body to soak up more vitamin d from the sun, sunlight also energizes special cells in your immune system call T cells, these are the cell that help fight infection. Keeping our immune systems strong.

4. MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER

Being outdoors boosts all your happy hormones, it helps improve your self-esteem. Being outdoors can lift your spirit, listening to the birds, the ocean waves, the river running, people laughing.

There is no better way to instantly make you feel uplifted.

Being outdoors is so good for your health that a lot of health practioners and therapists are using a method that brings their clients outside into nature.

There have been many studies done showing that being outdoors can have strong healing powers, so more therapists choose to have their therapy session’s outside nowadays as it adds to the client’s benefits.

WHAT IS OUTDOOR THERAPY?

Outdoor Therapy, or Mental Health Care held outdoors is a strategy that combines being in nature and the old school talk therapy.

This way of working has been around for many years, but the COVID pandemic has brought it back to life, making it a welcome change from Zoom calls, this therapy can also be called Ecotherapy, Nature Therapy or Wilderness Therapy.

Studies have shown being in nature can improve mental health, it also has the potential to increase happiness, positive social skill, interacting in a different form than sitting behind a desk or on a computer screen. This helps with decreasing mental distress and a little bit of exercise never hurt anyone, getting your body moving increasing those happy hormones. You are on to a winning combination.

In all aspects of life, from just having some fun to the more serious reasons, getting outdoors is just as important now as it has always been, if not more so, it surely is one of the best ways to uplift your mind, body, and soul.