How Spending Time Outdoors Influences
Your Wellbeing and Health
By Cynthia Maddison
It is well-known that nature has a vitalizing effect. Do you remember the days when you were a child and you used to play outdoors? Those were the days when you felt energetic, enthusiast and alive. Studies show that spending time outdoors allows you to connect with nature, which is important for your health and soul. Many people refer to nature as the fuel for their soul because it has the power to offer them this calm energy, positive vigour and peace.
Research reveals that the environments surrounding you have the power to reduce or increase your stress level. The factors you get in touch with, what you hear, see or experience impacts your mood and immune system. An unpleasant environment will definitely make you feel helpless, sad or anxious. These feelings are often experienced when you spend time indoors, especially in a place you do not feel comfortable with. A pleasing environment has the opposite effect, it boosts your immune system, relieves muscle tension and lowers your heart rate. No matter the culture or age, people will always find nature a pleasing environment. Studies show that when people feel stressed they choose to spend time outdoors.
How does nature impact your health and wellbeing?
Nature can boost your brain function
Nature proves to be beneficial for your overall health. Numerous studies have shown that spending time outdoors can improve your ability to focus. A particular study has proved that children with ADHD who spent time outdoors performed better when they were asked to accomplish certain mental tasks.
Spending time in nature can increase creativity in people of all ages. A walk anywhere outdoors or indoors can have great advantages for adults and children, but the time spent in nature is the one that helps people get creative. If you have a house with a backyard, you should take off the concrete and plant trees and flowers to boost the oxygen levels.
Spending time outdoors helps you prevent health problems
The best way to prevent health issues is to spend time outdoors. Research reveals that the immune system gets a great boost when people do activities in nature. Some people consider this unbelievable but science proves that it makes perfect sense. When you are in nature, you breathe fresh air and airborne chemicals generated by plants. These phytocides are given off by plants with the purpose to protect themselves from insects, but when you inhale them, your body responds with an increase in white cells. This increase also implies a boost to your immune system and it is the main cause why you feel energized when you do activities outdoors.
If you have a backyard where you love to spend time and do activities, you should install a bug repellent device to protect you from insects because even if breathing fresh air boosts your immune system if a mosquito or other insect stings you, you can experience serious health problems. The latest statistics showing the diseases mosquitos carry are alarming therefore, you should protect yourself, especially if your house is located close to a standing water.
Nature reduces your stress and fears
The present society with its craziness often makes people feel angry and fearful. They experience negative feelings daily and the best way to replace them with pleasant ones is to expose themselves to fresh air. Studies have shown that people feel better even if they only see pictures of nature. You can only imagine the way you will feel if you will actually spend time in nature, breathing fresh air, hearing the songs of birds and feeling the wind in your hair.
Studies also show that exposure to nature can reduce muscle tension, heart rate, and blood pressure. It also helps you reduce stress levels, stress is one of the main factors that lead to chronic health issues, therefore, you should start spending time outdoors for getting the long-term benefits.
People can enhance their wellbeing through a connection with nature
Studies show that humans have a connection with living things. Nature is the element that makes them flourish, therefore, making it part of their life is critical for their wellbeing, especially when they are living in a busy city made from concrete. The persons who feel unhappy, lonely or afraid can always fight these states by going outside. Being in nature allows them to be alone with the spirit they believe in, with the heavens and other living things.
By practicing activities in nature, people have the possibility to connect with other people and to have stronger feelings of unity. Being outdoors offers you the possibility to support other people and help them. By observing the surrounding environment, you can better understand the changes you have to bring to your life to help the nature recover from the point it is nowadays. Be learning to appreciate the nature people will bring changes to their lives that have the purpose to stop pollution and restore the planet to a better state.
Spending too much time in front of a screen can prove deadly
More and more doctors state that nature deprivation leads to health conditions. Humans are made to spend time in the natural world, but when they deprive themselves of a connection with nature and they choose to spend long hours in front of a computer screen or TV they expose themselves to depression. This is not a surprising aspect for doctors when diagnosing depression, because nowadays the majority of people who suffer from this condition spend most of their time in front of a screen.
Depriving yourself of nature can make you more egoistic and indifferent. You should protect yourself from the risk of developing depression and anxiety. Isolating yourself from nature means isolating yourself from the rest of the world. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology states that the persons who spend multiple hours in front of a screen and lack physical activity are at a higher risk of death. Whenever you feel sad or you lack energy you should step outside for a quick walk.