Amelia Grant

Most of us nowadays live a fast-paced and technologically-driven life. Almost 90% of our day we spend indoors due to work, commuting, caring for children, cooking, watching TV, and interacting on social media. Unfortunately, all of this time inside is bad for our health, especially the health of our children. It's time to unplug and go outside. 

In case you need a little motivation, read these 5 health benefits of spending more time outdoors.  

1. Improve sleep

The quilt of your night’s sleep significantly depends on the hormone melatonin and your own unique circadian rhythm. Both of these are affected by your exposure to light, particularly sunlight. If you spend too much time inside, you're isolated from the source of your body's natural rhythms, so your sleep cycle will most likely suffer. For sleep patterns to improve, you should get at least 30-60 minutes of direct sunshine exposure every day.

2. Good for your eyes

You're probably aware that staring at a screen for long periods of time is bad for your eyes. However, experts have found that spending too much time inside, particularly for children, might cause irreversible abnormalities in the eyes. A number of studies have found a relationship between time spent inside and the occurrence of myopia and nearsightedness in children. 

Time spent outside is also good for the eyes of the adult population. The more time you spend staring at a screen, the higher your risk of dry eye syndrome. Allowing the eyes to focus on something further away exercises various eye muscles and helps relax your eyes.

3. Relieve stress

Most likely you already know about this,but if you're feeling anxious and depressed at home or at work, a quick walk outside can improve your mental well-being significantly. Walking in nature helps reduce the levels of stress. This happens because going in a green area may put your brain into a meditative state, which results in lower stress and a better mental state.

Besides, time outside increases the production of the feeling-good hormones in your body. It naturally boosts the levels of serotonin and endorphin. While these hormones improve your mental health, they also have an impact on your physical health. They can help reduce discomfort from back pain, knee pain, headache, and other painful conditions. Moreover, you can reap the benefits of outdoor walking regardless of the season and weather. 

4. Improve breathing

You may believe that the air in your house is safer than outdoors, but this is not the case. The concentration of some pollutants in your house is usually two to five times higher than outdoors. Worse, pollutants that are often found in houses have been identified as major risk factors for public health. Indoors, you are exposed to carbon monoxide, as well as a variety of other pollutants such as volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, and flame retardants.

Chemicals from furniture, construction materials, home, and office items, as well as mold, filth, dust, and pet dander, may all leak into the air. Increasing ventilation may help, but being outside a little bit every day is much better for your health.

5. Improve memory and attention

Do you have trouble concentrating or brain fog? Go outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air and sunshine. Just getting some fresh air and sunshine will help you focus better. Walking in nature might be a new, safe, affordable, and widely available tool for addressing brain fog and poor concentration. Interacting with nature, such as going for a stroll in the park, helps increase memory and attention regardless of the season. Short-term memory can be increased by 20% with the help of daily walking outside.