If you want to live an active healthy life, spending a good amount of time outdoors is a very good idea. This is not only a cliche. It is something that has been proven by the healthcare industry to be very beneficial to you. If you want to get healthier, staying cooped up indoors all the time is probably not the best choice. Below are six reasons why engaging in outdoor activities is so beneficial to your health.
1. Sunlight Gives You Vitamin D
Above all else is the fact that your body requires sunlight to remain healthy. This is due to the fact that sunlight is needed for your body to produce Vitamin D3. While Vitamin D3 can be obtained in supplements, the best way to get it is still to go outside and experience the rays of the sun yourself.
This vitamin is vital in regards to helping you maintain the proper calcium levels in your body. It can help to protect your bones and is beneficial to your immune system. As such, getting enough Vitamin D3 from sunlight can actually lessen your chances of getting sick.
2. It Lessens the Spread of Disease
The Covid 19 Pandemic taught the world a lot about how infectious diseases spread. The easiest place for such communicable diseases to spread to other people is in close quarters indoors. Alternatively, it’s much harder for diseases to spread outdoors from person to person. This is due to the fact that the air supply is not contained outdoors.
Instead, it’s able to spread out and is more controlled by wind forces. A virus that may have spread from person to person indoors may simply be blown far away by a breeze outdoors. While the threat of spread is not eliminated entirely, its chances of being successful is greatly lessened while in an outdoor setting.
3. It’s Great for Your Mental Health
Something else outdoor activity has shown to be is good for is one’s mental health. Being cooped up inside consistently can produce feelings of loneliness and isolation. In certain cases, it can even be a contributing factor to depression. However, spending more time outdoors has been shown to have the opposite effect.
Choose outdoor activities that you either enjoy or would find physically and mentally stimulating. Don’t be afraid to try new outdoor activities you had never considered before like white water rafting in Sacramento for instance. White water rafting can be exciting and exhilarating. That is the kind of activity you can certainly not replicate indoors.
4. It Improves Your Sleep
The human sleep cycle is based on an internal clock. This internal clock came about as a natural development and is greatly influenced by the sunlight and darkness. When a person does not receive as much sunlight as needed, this internal clock can become somewhat confused and this can manifest itself in the way of sleep problems. If you have trouble sleeping, one solution may be to spend more time outdoors. It can help to naturally regulate your internal clock so you actually sleep better during nighttime hours.
5. It Improves Your Physical Fitness
While it is true you can exercise indoors at places like the gym, there are many strenuous physical activities that are simply better to do outdoors. If you want to go for a jog, there is nowhere better to do so than outside around your neighborhood. Other activities, like say playing a game of basketball, are simply more fun to do outdoors. Exercising outdoors gives you the space you need to get a real good aerobic workout. As such, your physical fitness should improve by leaps and bounds.
6. It Relieves Your Stress
What does a person tend to do when they want to “clear their mind” after a stressful event? They tend to want to go outside for a walk. This is due to the fact that being outdoors is a natural stress reliever. Outdoors, you will encounter more visual and audio stimuli you are not accustomed to encountering when cramped up indoors. You will encounter nature, and that combined with exposure to natural air and sunlight can help create a soothing effect. As such, it can help relieve your stress.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, there are many benefits to outdoor activities. The list above only really scratches the surface of the ways you can benefit by spending quality time outdoors doing things you love. Some of your most meaningful, memorable, and exciting experiences may come from outdoor activities.
