Getting out is a very good decision because enjoying some time in nature is very good for your health. Why is it so important to spend some time outdoors? There was a term coined about 15 years ago called major Deficit Disorder. It's not a clinical indicator, but it really emphasizes how people are becoming increasingly disconnected from nature because of screens. The average adult will spend more time behind a screen than sleeping. And children get less than half an hour of unstructured time outside each day. Also, children are pending upwards of seven hours behind a screen between home and school.  So what are the benefits of being outside? 

Increases Creativity

An interesting study compared a group of people. One group spent a few minutes walking outside on the city landscape and looking up at skyscrapers. The second group just walked in a city park, looking at the trees, birds and flowers. They found a significant difference, actually, in their brain functioning. The second group had a  better mood, better positivity, outlook and creativity. They had a relief and lower mental fatigue, were able to focus better, and had better concentration. And they even slept better that night. 

Reduces Stress

When you go out in nature, it reduces the indicators of stress, like cortisol. Something in you is restored. Many people say nature provides something above and beyond human connection. Nature helps you feel interconnected with things more than people. Remember those difficult seasons of life, those winters in your own life when you feel like it should end and spring should eventually come. When you're going through a difficult time in your life, get out of your surroundings and maybe even just take a walk and smell the flowers. It will really make you feel better. It gives you the ability to get over stress in your life.  

Getting outside is good for you, and you should start planning summer vacations. Take your kids someplace where they can connect with the great outdoors. For instance, you can build a swimming pool at your place. It isn't too expensive; pool loans can come in handy. If they have an appreciation for it, they're more likely to preserve it down the road. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be too complicated. Just take a walk around the block on your lunch hour. Take 10 minutes and go sit in a plot of grass, maybe at a beautiful state park or local parks.

Boosts Mental Health 

Physical benefits of walking and hiking are fairly obvious to people, but most people don't recognize that there's mental health benefits. Walking just in itself has been shown to reduce levels of anxiety and depression, and actually could be preventative in some cases of depression. Doing that in nature and natural surroundings proves that those results even further.

Something about being in nature is calming to humans. People seek environments that seem calming and protected. People have actually started to show that their brains work differently when they're in nature compared to when they're in an urban setting. So it's thought that being in a natural setting can change the way that you think, affects your emotions, and reduces your anxiety and stress levels. When you're in nature, there's a thought that different parts of your brain are activating. Normally, these are the parts that are related to being on edge or being calm, and so that leads to physical changes too. This leads to reductions in your blood pressure and reductions in your heart rate. It's calming those areas of your brain that are related to stress and anxiety.

Bottom Line

Getting outside, stretching your legs, and seeing the sunshine are some of those things can be helpful for people. Mental health benefits can impact anyone. It doesn't have to be someone who's depressed or anxious at baseline. You're going to get that benefit from getting out in nature, even just for a little bit of time.