Get Outside
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” - John Muir
The average American spends 90% of their time indoors; that is an astounding 21.6 hours inside every day. Our bodies crave the fresh air, sunshine, and environment that the outdoors provide. The benefits of being outside affect not only your mental and emotional health, but your physical health as well. Going outside allows you to transition from a contained space to an area that’s vastness is limitless as far as we know. Its positive effects are still being discovered to this day. The fact that one simple habit can positively affect so many areas of our lives seems too good to be true. What’s more, is that you have the ability to access it everyday.
Take it outside: Reset
“Stop fighting or take it outside!” Sound familiar? Although our parents probably weren’t considering our well being as we fought with our siblings, getting outside almost always stopped the fighting the second we stepped outside. Why didn’t we continue the petty fight we vigorously had pursued while we were indoors? Especially since our parents basically gave us full permission to continue the throw down, as long as it was in an environment where we could be loud and not break anything.
I hope you weren’t expecting a solid answer to that. We were kids, easily distractible. To say it was purely the fresh outside air would be stretching.
However, going outside does act as a powerful reset. The change in environment works wonders for overwhelm, toddler battles, mental block, and even marital strain. Being outside relieves tension both mentally and physically. This makes it easier to communicate, focus, and regulate emotions. “Green space” has also been shown to improve problem-solving skills, memory, and impulse control. So when the kids are having meltdown after meltdown, you feel in over your head with stress from work, or if you and your husband are struggling to communicate, gently grab his hand and try taking it outside.
Better than a Baby
I love sleep. My firstborn baby did not. Boy, did he not. In my quest to someday have a stretch of sleep that would last longer than 45 minutes, I learned a lot of neat tricks and techniques; one being the effectiveness of natural light. Natural light helps regulate your body’s circadian rhythm. (Which affects things like hormones, metabolism, sleep/wake cycle, immune system, etc.) Getting natural light during the day is the top contributor to promoting a healthy circadian rhythm, and a healthy circadian rhythm will release the proper hormones that tell your body when it is time to sleep.
Natural light is not the only outdoor component helpful for quality sleep. There is also something to be said about the way fresh air and sunshine wears you out. Not to mention the fact that being outside often leads to more activity, whether it’s intended or not. Want your kid to nap better? Let them burn out some energy outside. Do you want to feel tired when bedtime rolls around? Spend some time outside with them! All these things about being outside will undoubtedly improve your sleep, and the importance of quality sleep could be an entire post on its own.
Release the Worry
Something I find fascinating about being out in nature is that it’s almost always fully present. Birds are looking for food for right now. The clouds floating in the current sky are exactly what they are supposed to be at this moment. They float on without worry of tomorrow’s sky, which will be different, and without considering that they may not be there much longer. The grass sways with the wind, growing naturally without prepping for the weather to come or lamenting over yesterday’s hail. When we are outside, we can just be.
Outside, we don’t feel claustrophobic or cluttered. We don’t see the messy countertops, dirty dishes, or the daunting pile of laundry that’s been waiting for you to put it away for the last 2 weeks. In nature, you are able to get outside of your busy, overwhelming, messy world. The truth is, there are always things to do, especially inside the house/office/garage/etc.
However, God takes care of the outdoors. The grass grows, the sky rains, the sun comes up on time and goes down just as promptly. It is not your worry, so when you are out in that space, you can breathe. You get to simply enjoy what’s there without the obligation to continue to fix, clean, or deal with it; it’s handled. Simply recognising that fact can make us appreciate and enjoy the outdoors that much more.
It’s important to allow yourself to be in that kind of place. A place where you can be physically away from all of your obligations and tasks- not even have them in sight. The most accessible place for that is literally right off your front step. There have been multiple studies conducted that prove surrounding yourself with the outdoors and green space decreases anxiety and depression.
A few minutes outside can significantly help you release that worry, ease your anger, and improve your mood. This is worth it for yourself, your children, your husband, and everyone around you, because when you feel good, you’re more apt to do good. Grant yourself time to release your tension, and enjoy the benefits the outdoors has to offer.
We’ve already gone over how being outside helps you reset, deal with conflict, sleep better, and help with depression and anxiety, but these are only a few of the MANY benefits to being outside and in fresh air. Other benefits include:
- Lower blood pressure
- Healthier pregnancy and birth outcomes
- Better cholesterol
- Boosted immunity
- Reduced risk of stroke and cardiovascular incidental deaths
- Lower heart rate
- Absorption of vitamin D
- Enhanced creativity
- Improved vision
- Increased focus and attention
All these improvements will affect the overall quality of your life. If your focus improves, you’ll be a better listener, employee, spouse, and be able get more things done efficiently. If you have a healthier pregnancy and birth, you will be significantly less likely to suffer from postpartum depression. If you have a stronger immune system, you’ll be sick less often, and enjoy more time being healthy! Everything connects. Going outside on a regular basis can be the one good habit you start that changes everything for the better.
Practical Ways to Get Outside
Now that we’ve ran through the undeniable and remarkable advantages to being outside, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: who has time for yet another thing?! It sounds great to be able to just walk outside and dilly-dally for half an hour, but it’s not realistic.
Sometimes doing things that are good for us has to be a discipline to make happen, and not for our enjoyment. I am very familiar with being busy, so as a solution, I have offered a list of ways that can help you get outside without “wasting” your time. The key factor here is to do the things you normally do – that you are able to do, outside. With every task you undertake, ask yourself, “ Is this something I can do outside?” Here are some possible examples:
Laptop or Phone Work
If you work on your phone or laptop, bring your portable item outside. You can lay down on a blanket in the grass or bust out your best lawn chair. However you want to get yourself comfortable, being outside is a great place for work. I personally love working on my blog outside, especially when I am having trouble focusing or hitting a mental block. The increased creativity is just a bonus.
Work Out
Of course if you use machines to workout, this may not be a practical or even viable option. I know I would not be hauling a treadmill in and out of my house. My workouts are very minimal when it comes to equipment, so it’s nothing extra to bring out my workout mat and a couple dumbbells. Maybe you are able to do half the workout inside and the second half outside. However you’d like to incorporate the outdoors into your workout plan is great, even if it’s only a little bit!
If you are struggling to workout because you have clingy little people (aka children), exercising outside can be a great solution or at least make it easier. Generally speaking, my kids are less likely to interrupt me while we are outside. Plus, the fresh air is better for your lungs, particularly when you start breathing heavily. It’s a win-win-win. Highly recommend trying it out if you haven’t.
Eat
Look, if you eat outside, you don’t have to sweep up the food your toddler throws, wipe down the stickiness off the back of the chair, or get annoyed at the spoon banging on the table. And who doesn’t love an occasional picnic? You also can do snacktime outside. You are already taking the time to sit and eat anyways, might as well do it AND reap all the benefits of being outside.
Some of my favorite memories have been made eating outside on wooden picnic tables: at my grandparents, the cabin, parks, etc. Now that I think of it, it might be worth investing in a good ol’ picnic table. I digress; if eating is the only thing you sit down to do, do it outside.
Do Your Hobbies
Maybe you journal, paint, or you like to indulge in a good read. Whatever you take time to enjoy doing as a hobby, see if you can do it outside! Even better yet, discover an outdoor hobby you’d enjoy! It could be biking, hiking, gardening, archery, nature photography, you name it. You can always do your indoor hobbies in the winter or on stormy days, and your outdoor hobbies on the nice ones!
Wash Your Car
It probably needs it. Mine does. If you feel like you can’t get out of the house because there are too many things to do inside, you probably are the type of person who can find plenty of productive things to do outside, too. Weed your flowerbed, sweep the front steps, transplant trees, mow the lawn, etc. There is always something that can be done if you want something to do. I learned that quickly as a young child after I made the mistake of telling my grandma that I was bored. She gave me a whole list of undesirable things I could do. (This list included dishes, weeding, scrubbing kitchen cabinets, etc.) I never spoke those words to her, or any adult ever again, and I learned to find things to do on my own. Thank God for grandmothers.
Don’t get me wrong here, I would not advocate for you to make your to-do list any longer than it needs to be, but if you are looking for a reason to get outside, and thrive on the gratification of getting things done, then by all means, find your reason.
Drink Your Coffee
I saved the best for last. I know this can fall under the “Eat” category, but for me, my morning coffee with my Bible reading is a ritual. I’m telling you, there is no better way to start the day than to get in a cozy sweater, drink hot coffee outside, and watch the sunrise in silence before your toddler wakes up. You come in ready to tackle the day thanks to the assistance of caffeine, fresh air, and a holy moment of solitude. I cannot put into words how powerful this practice is. There is something so refreshing and pure about the morning air, sunrise, and peace it brings. You’ll just have to experience it for yourself 🙂
These are just a few ways to get outside. If you have the time to go outside just for the sake of enjoying it, do that! Breathe it in, listen to the birds sing, watch the way the trees move with the wind, and be present with it. I encourage you this week to find a way to get outside and pay attention to how it affects you. You will not be disappointed.
Source Citations
Swaim, Emily. “8 Health Benefits to Getting Back to Nature and Spending Time Outside.”
Healthline, 28 May 2022, https://www.healthline.com/health/health-benefits-of-being-outdoors#emotional-wellness. Accessed 20 May 2024.
Twohig-Bennett, Caoimhe, and Andy Jones. “The Health Benefits of the Great Outdoors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Greenspace Exposure and Health Outcomes.” Environmental Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 Oct. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6562165/.
“3 Ways Getting Outside into Nature Helps Improve Your Health.” UC Davis Health, 3 May 2023, health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/3-ways-getting-outside-into-nature-helps-improve-your-health/2023/05 .
Hey There, Friend!
Thank YOU for taking time out of your day to read my post! I am so grateful you have found yourself here. I hope that you were encouraged to find a way to spend time in the great outdoors this week. Let me know in the comments how you will be spending time outside.
If you liked what you read, share this post to spread the word of the benefits of being outside!
Absolutely blessed by your post! Have you considered possibly writing a book? You are VERY much inspirational! ❤️
Thank you,
Heather Vanderweyst
I am so happy to hear this! I have not put much thought into that, but I just may consider it!