During the summer and winter months, it can be easy to spend most of your time indoors. After all, it’s too cold to go outside in the winter, and it’s too hot to go outside in the summer. To maintain the perfect level of comfortability, you should just stay in the house, right? Well, perhaps not. There’s a big, wide world outside of your home, and it’s just waiting to be explored. Whether you choose to go for a short walk or a whole trip around the world, these are the reasons why we should all spend more time outdoors.
It’s great for your mental health
When you spend a huge amount of time indoors, you might realize that you start to feel a little claustrophobic. You crave fresh air, your mind feels a little foggy, and you become a little disorientated. Yet, when you make your way outside and breathe the fresh air, you feel as though a weight has been lifted and all of your worries float away. You’re not alone in this, because being outdoors has always been associated with positive mental health.
It’s great for your physical health
As well as making you feel healthier mentally, being outdoors also helps you feel better physically. That’s because any form of exercise of physical activity is always going to be good for your body as it gets your blood pumping and your body moving. Going outdoors and regularly going for walks, hikes, or any other form of exercise can burn calories and even reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
You get to be at one with nature
Although it may be hard to believe sometimes, the world is a wonderful place. In terms of our environment and our surroundings, we are incredibly lucky to still have the natural world around us. By leaving your house and getting outside, you can experience what the outside world is really like, and you can appreciate the sheer beauty. Being out in the open can give you a chance to escape the city, it can give you a chance to escape, and it can give you a chance to be at one with your thoughts.
You’ll improve your sleep
When you stay inside for long periods of time, you starve your body of vital natural sunlight. It’s this sunlight that actually affects the melatonin levels in your body – which ultimately affects your sleeping patterns. When you’re isolated from this natural light, you will find that your sleep will begin to suffer as your circadian rhythms will be disrupted. However, when you go outside and give your body the chance to take in natural sunlight, your internal clock will rejig itself and your sleep should improve.
If you’re currently torn between staying inside and watching Netflix, and going outside for a walk, we’d suggest the latter option. After all, going outside is so good for you, and the human race should spend more of their time away from the inside world and exploring the outside world.
