Science Says So: You Should Probably Go Outside and Play More
You’ve probably noticed the content of many of my Facebook page posts include various “#adventure” outdoors landscape photographs. I have made it a personal priority to take myself and my beloved tribe, exploring the outdoors as much as possible. I know I am my happiest in this setting, particularly during more challenging times in life. In fact, I have become quite mindful of when my mind and body begin to tell me it’s been too long since I’ve surfed, paddleboarded, swam, ran trails, or hiked. I am the most grounded when I am able to use and enjoy all of my senses to take in my surroundings outdoors. It’s in our nature to be in nature, and I believe many of us take the gift of outdoor adventures and nature, and it’s many health benefits, for granted.
We spend way too much time indoors in our offices, cubicles, cars, on our phones, watching Netflix and scrolling on IG or FB. This ISN’T NATURAL. On your death bed at 103 years old (…totally), you can’t possibly envision yourself reflecting, “man, I am SO glad I spent my time trolling on Facebook and not going outdoors and exploring more.” Yes, perhaps not.
Research posits that venturing out to a hike in the woods, the beach, even to a neighborhood park, or spending a weekend by the lake can lower a person’s stress level, decrease blood pressure, reduce asthma risk, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and allergies and also boost mental health and life expectancy. Is this not enough for you? Keep reading for more reasons to get outside more.
Mental health - A meta analysis from Gruebner et. al (2017) found that the risk for serious mental illness is generally higher in cities compared to rural areas (1). University of Berlin and Boston University also found that anxiety, psychosis, schizophrenia, paranoia, PTSD, addiction, anger and mood disorders are “generally higher in cities than in rural areas,”. Why is this? The biggest culprits are the social and environmental stressors inherent in urban cities including noise, water and air pollution, and the even the aesthetics of tall buildings, poverty, lack of social support, social segregation, physical violence, and traffic noise. In addition, urban light exposure or “light pollution” may also impact mental health given the mental health effects on lack of sleep due to the circadian rhythm and change sleeping patterns the urban light has (to be discussed below). Whether you’re in rural areas or not, it’s paramount that you find yourself some outdoor tranquility time for your own mental health good.
Because you work out/are an athlete - Acknowledge this to yourself: you work incredibly hard. It requires a lot of discipline and will-power to get yourself into the gym, studio, dojo, or garage. Whether you’re an athlete or an “average Joe”, you give everything you have no matter what kind of day or night you’ve endured all for the name of fitness and staying healthy (or competing). First off, take a moment right now to acknowledge the gains and growth you have made for yourself as a result. Now take advantage of this hard work and apply it to outdoor activities! Have you actually experienced yet how well you can naturally pop up on a surf board, endure a challenging hike, keep up with flexible yogis, balance on a paddleboard, wakeboard or snowboard, kick ass on a Spartan race, do beach handstands, or run a half marathon?? As that CrossFit trainer, gym rat, olympic weight lifter, avid runner, or average Joe, you will recognize how your hard work transfers to play time outdoors. Embrace it, you’ve earned it, and it’s good for you.
Oliver Sacks says so – Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks was keen on taking his own patients outside and in gardens as much as possible because of the fascinating neurological benefits he witnessed his patients experience as a result. In some of his writing he has described a patient with Tourette’s syndrome being completely free of his symptoms while hiking in the desert, an advanced dementia patient unable to remember how to physically carry out activities of daily living but knew exactly how to plant seedlings in a garden bed, a Parkinson’s patient able to climb up and down rocks. Sacks put it this way, “nature calls to something very deep in us. Biophilia, the love of nature and living things, is an essential part of the human condition. Hortophilia, the desire to interact with, manage, and tend nature, is also deeply instilled in us. The role that nature plays in health and healing becomes even more critical for people working long days in windowless offices, for those living in city neighborhoods without access to green spaces, for children in city schools, or for those in institutional settings such as nursing homes. The effects of nature’s qualities on health are not only spiritual and emotional but physical and neurological.”
Sleep – as a sleep specialist I feel particularly drawn to this reason for going outside more. If you aren’t exposing yourself to enough light, your circadian rhythm (your sleep cycle) becomes off track, which not only disrupts your ability to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up efficiently, it also trickles into other systems such as your digestion and mood. Sleep can also be affected when you are lacking serotonin (a neurotransmitter that is responsible for positive emotions). Guess what elevates serotonin levels? Yup, sunlight.
Mood, serotonin and vitamin D – speaking of mood and serotonin, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is certainly real for people more susceptible to depression from the effects of winter. Winter months bring cold temperatures which pull us to remain indoors, as well as bring shorter days which means less sunlight exposure. These two factors create less opportunity to be outdoors for us to receive enough sunlight, thus negatively impacting mood. Vitamin D (aside from bone health) increases serotonin levels and (despite conflicting research) one way to receive Vitamin D is from exposure to the sun. Despite the inclination to want to hibernate when it’s cold outside, wrap up and get out there.
Being around water – The auditory and visual rhythm of the waves exudes a sense of relaxation and calming energy. Research has actually found that floating in water, whether in a pool, tub or lake slows down our brainwaves (Brookes, 2013). Conveniently, bodies of water are the color blue, which, the color itself has shown to have calming effects. Having physical contact with water calms our physiology down. Given that water covers more than 70% of Earth’s surface and 70% of our own mass, it comes to no surprise when research has found that being in contact or near water triggers an immediate calming response in our brains. “In fact, the mere sight and sound of water can induce a flood of neurochemicals that promote wellness, increase blood flow to the brain and heart and induce relaxation” (Wallace Nichols).
Get. Off. Your. Phone - Your phone will kill you. …Ok it’s not that dramatic. But, the time we spend on our phones interferes with our sleep,memory, concentration, relationships, self-esteem, creativity, productivity, problem solving and decision making skills. This is why - our smartphones are a medium for chronic raising levels of cortisol (a stress hormone). Like drugs or gambling, spartphones and the apps we use are actually designed to trigger dopamine release (the feel good, addiction related neurotransmitter in our brain), which then causes difficulties in separating ourselves from, not checking, or responding to our phones. Our phones become a positive reinforcement to our emotions and internal needs. Thus, we become addicted to checking IG, Facebook, Email or text. If we don’t, we become uncomfortable. If we don’t engage with our need to check our phone, cortisol can be released. Cortisol is our primary fight or flight hormone. As part of it’s function, it releases spikes in blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar, that help us react to and survive acute physical threats. It helps us survive. But, our bodies don’t know the difference between actual life threatening situations from emotional stresors such as checking your phone to find an angry email, waiting for the next texts or post “like” or a constant sense of obligation to be on the phone, which then creates unintended personal stress. Also, your cortisol levels are elevated when your phone is nearby or when you hear or think you hear it. It’s a stress response, and it feels unpleasant, and the body’s natural response is to want to check the phone to remove that discomfort. But, by checking your phone, you will likely find something else stressful waiting for you, leading to another cortisol spike and continue the cycle of checking your phone.
Just an FYI, chronically elevated cortisol levels are linked to depression, obesity, metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, fertility issues, high blood pressure, heart attack, dementia, and stroke. Get off your phone.
Two hours – An article by White et. Al (2019) in Scientific Reports found that the magic number of how long to be outdoors to receive beneft seems to be two hours a week. In their 20,000 sample size from 2014 to 2016, they found that those who spent two hours or more outdoors reported greater physical health and mental well-being than the participants who didn’t get out. 90 minutes of weekly outdoor activity didn’t have as significant effects and five hours a week didn’t make more of a difference than the two hour folks. By the way, this study also highlighted that you can space that two hours a week into whatever time intervals fit with your lifestyle. Just make it happen. Yes, that includes walks during your lunch break while at work, though, I may be biased in suggesting a nice hike on the weekend over that at times.
It’s yours - The great thing about this information is that you can make your time outdoors to fit your individual lifestyle, physical, and schedule needs. Meet yourself where you’re at and embrace what you can do for yourself. A 20 minute walk in your neighborhood, or meditation in your backyard every evening is just as powerful as a 2-hour surf lesson in the ocean. This is your’s to have.
So, reader, just like with my patients at the end of every session, I’m holding you accountable in asking: For this coming weekend, what do you have planned outdoors for yourself?
~ You’ve got this!
Brooks, K. (2013). https://northwestfloatcenter.com/floatation-therapy-changes-brain-waves-better/
Gruebner O, Rapp MA, Adli M, Kluge U, Galea S, Heinz A. Cities and Mental Health. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017;114(8):121–127. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2017.0121
White, M.P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B.W., Hartig, T., Warber, S.L., Bone, A., Depledge, M.H., Fleming, L.E. (2019), Scientific Reports 9, Article number: 7730.