6 Benefits of Spending Time in Nature
People appear to intuitively understand that spending time outside is beneficial to their mental, physical, and emotional health and wellbeing. However, with our modern way of life, spending more time indoors—away from nature—has become routine. In fact, Americans spend roughly 93 percent of their time indoors on average!
But here's the thing: spending time outdoors is extremely beneficial to your overall health. Scientific studies are increasingly revealing the various health benefits of spending time in nature.
Let’s look at six major health benefits of spending time in nature:
1. Feeling Relaxed
According to the research published in this journal, experiencing the relaxing effects of nature takes as little as five minutes of being in or viewing nature. Being physically active has been shown to help people relax, so if spending more time outside replaces sedentary hobbies with active ones, then more smiles and more relaxation should result.
2. Improved Concentration
Going outside can have a positive impact on your ability to focus. Spending time outside has been shown to increase creativity and imagination in a study from the American Psychological Association. According to other studies, children with ADHD tend to be able to focus better after spending time outside.
3. Physically Activity
It's probable that you're not moving around enough if you spend too much time inside. If you make it a goal to get outside, you'll spend less time in front of the TV and computer and more time walking and doing other activities that get your body moving. Going outside in nature inherently creates opportunities to be physically active, walking, biking, paddling, even hiking to a lookout and setting up a hammock. People who exercise outside are more likely to keep to a future habit than those who exercise at a gym, according to this research.
4. Increases Mental Health
Research has shown that spending time in nature can help with mental health issues including depression and certain forms of anxiety. Ecotherapy, for example, has been demonstrated to aid with mild to moderate depression. This could be due to a combination of frequent physical activity, social interaction, and being outside in nature.
People who spent more time in the woods have lower blood pressure, cortisol levels, and pulse rates than those who spent more time indoors or in urban environments. However, simply being in the sun can help reduce your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
6. Increase Vitamin D Levels
Speaking of what the sun can do…When sunlight strikes the skin, it starts a process that produces and activates vitamin D. According to studies, just 15 to 20 minutes of sun exposure each day can help your body produce vitamin D, which is needed to boost vitamin absorption, strengthen bones, and even prevent certain types of cancer.
This is not at all an exhaustive list of the benefits that come with spending time in nature or just going for a walk outside. Click here to check out my opinion on Why Walking is the Perfect Bite-Sized Adventure. Nature can also improve your self-esteem, increase your circle of friends and build your community of people which will reduce feelings of loneliness, and for me most of all being outdoors in nature is just plain fun.
If you are looking for more information and resources then check out the books below on amazon.com (the links are affiliated with this blog and will support this blog)
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