5 Reasons to Get Outdoors More

While more and more of the world’s population is living in urbanised areas, and while more and more of us are working in jobs that require us to work at a computer or desk, we are all spending less and less time outdoors.

Once upon a time societies all around the world spent the majority of their days outside. It is only in the last 100-years or so that there has been a global shift towards the indoors. This is creating a significant rise in health issues caused by everything from poor air circulation to poor posture. One study even suggests that the average person living in the USA spends more than 90% of their whole life indoors.

Another study, funded by Unilever, found that of 12,000 parents surveyed across in 10 countries who have children between the age of 5-12, one-third of their children spend less than 30 minutes outside each day.

This time indoors not only correlates to a decline in some areas of our health, but also explains why so many of us feel so disconnected from nature, and one another. If we want to make the world a better place, to protect the earth for those we love and the wider natural world, we must spend time in the great outdoors.

Fortunately, studies have also shown that spending just 2-hours in nature over the course of a week correlated with insignificant increases in health and wellbeing.

So, here are MoveMe Studio’s five top reasons to get into the great outdoors more.

Sky Time Over Screen Time

Screen time is impacting all of our health in ways we might not even be aware of. Time spent looking at screens has been proven to cause sleep deprivation due to the blue light emitted from screens. This blue light interferes with the regulation of the sleep hormone melatonin.

Do you ever remember being told as child if you looked at the TV too long you eyes would become square? Turns out the logic was correct. Screen time adds physical strain to your eyes and there are millions of people who are struggling with neck, shoulder and wrist pain from having spent so much time on their phones.

Getting time away from our screens and staring at the sky can help regulate our hormones and help us feel more relaxed. We don’t even need to spend time actually staring at the sky, but it is a good mindfulness practice. Just being outside without a screen or mobile device and bring huge benefits to our wellbeing.

Breathing Boost

Have you ever heard of screen apnea? It is something almost all of us would have experienced perhaps without even knowing. Screen apnea is the changes to our breathing we experience when we are looking at a screen, especially when scrolling or typing. We have a tendency to hold our breath or change our natural breathing pattern. This increases anxiety and reduces our concentration because we’re not getting enough oxygen into our system.

What’s more, when we are indoors we are not getting fresh air into our lungs. Air quality inside a home is often worse than we may think. Indoor air pollution can be caused by household products, mould, and even our cooking and heating systems. Getting outdoors helps combat all of this, a few good gulps of fresh air can solve more than you think!

Increased Mental Wellbeing

There have been many studies conducted in all parts of the world that have proven that spending time in nature, or outdoors anywhere can increase our psychological wellbeing. If we couple being outside and exercising or engaging in any kind of physical activity the levels of wellbeing increase even further.

Studies in the field of human biology have found that spending time in nature actually increases our immunity. On particular study in 2009 found that people two took a two-night camping trip in a woodland area had increased NK-cell activity. These NK-cells are a type of white blood cell that are essential for our immune systems to thrive.

Deeper Connections

It is true that when we feel connected to something we feel more inclined to protect and care for it. This can certainly be applied to spending time in the great outdoors. Only when we spend time outdoors, in our wild and natural spaces can we build a deep connection for them. In the time of the climate crisis the world needs more people feeling connected to the earth to be inspired and motivated to do their part in helping to protect the last of our wild spaces.

Do You Feel Compelled to Take Action

This week keep a track of how much time you spend outside. Are you getting your full 120-minutes in?

If you are, can you find another 20-minute pocket of time to get outside?

If you aren’t what steps can you take to spend more time outdoors? Perhaps you could walk to work, or visit the park on your lunch hour.

Keep a notebook close by, write down how much time you spend outdoors and note how you feel. Is there a positive correlation between the amount of time you spend outside and how you are feeling?