Why You Should Spend More Time Outdoors
By Mikkie Mills
“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” ~ John Muir
There is something amazing about spending time in the outdoors. It’s peaceful and settles the mind more than anything else can. There’s an indescribable beauty to the sublime aspects of a clear starry night or the pounding of ocean waves against a cliff. There is a famous art piece called “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog” by Caspar David Friedrich that shows that feeling. The man stands lonely at the peak of the mountain. He looks out at clouds that partly obscure the high peaks of other mountains. The artwork shows just how immense nature really is and shows the clarity that can be gained from it. There are so many reasons why you should spend more time walking in and appreciating nature.
There is a Divine Energy to Nature
In the 1800’s, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote a book called Nature. The book explored the ideas of transcendentalism which means that there is a divinity in nature that can cleanse the soul and the spirit. He thought the best way to connect with your own spirit and the spirit of a greater being was through nature. His ideas still live on today as people realize the beauty and the immense power that lives in the forces of nature. If you’ve even spent a night staring up at the stars or overlooked a valley from a high point, then you must have felt that power. It’s undeniable that nature can cleanse you and reset your frame of mind. Go out in nature to find yourself again and reconnect with who you really are.
Being Outdoors Improves Your Health
There are so many studies that show how being outside improves your health. By going on a simple walk through a park every day, you lengthen your life significantly. That comes partly from the benefits of exercise, but there are also calming properties to the colors that we see in nature. By looking at the color green, you can decrease stress levels and improve circulation. Scientists have even suggested that a busy individual who doesn't have time for nature should change their phone background to a green image of nature scenery. Even swimming in your backyard next to a green lawn can help you to reduce stress. You can look into low interest pool loans so that you can sit by the pool and enjoy the vitamin D that radiates from the sunlight. Business Insider posted a list of health benefits that come from being outdoors. They include improved short-term memory, restored mental energy, stress relief, reduced inflammation, better vision, improved concentration, sharper thinking and creativity, and possible anti-cancer effects.
Going Outdoors Regularly Makes Your More Productive
Since being outdoors helps to improve concentration and sharper your creativity skills, you also become more productive during the time that you’re not outdoors. If you have a homework assignment or an assignment from work, you will be more productive if you can do it outside instead of inside at a desk. You won’t get distracted as easily and you’ll feel better about the project that you’re working on. If you do your work outside, you will get more out of it and feel more satisfied with the end project. A lot of artists actually take their art projects and work on them outside for that very reason. They concentrate better and feel like the drawing and painting comes easier when they can feel the gentle breeze on their skin and the soft, warm light on the canvas or the page. If you can, take your work assignment outside. At least try to get outside during work as much as you can. If you have a lunch break, then take the lunch outside in the sun.
You can do amazing things for your mind and your body by just being outside more often.
About Mikkie Mills: “I’m a Chicago native who loves to share her expertise about personal development and growth. When I’m not writing, I’m chasing the little ones around or rock climbing at the local climbing gym.” More articles by Mikkie.
