In the digital age, there seems to be less need than ever to venture away from home for our leisure and entertainment. Children and adults do not need to venture behind the doors of home to find their friends. We just need to open an application or social network and voila, a whole sea of social possibilities.
But does that mean playing outside or spending time outside is out of date? Of course not. It shouldn’t be that way, as outdoor activities are about more than just entertainment – getting out into nature is good for everyone in the family’s health, and in this gallery we take a look at some of the health benefits of spending time away from home, outdoors, in contact with nature.
We cannot deny that most of us spend a great deal of time indoors and some hardly go outside at all, much less during the day. Unfortunately, staying indoors for a long time can have serious effects on our health, both physically and mentally. Today we will see why it is so important to go out from time to time.
If your job keeps you in a cubicle every day, or you work in information technology and you don’t usually come out of your ‘cave’ too much, you are doing your own body a disservice.
For starters, our bodies need vitamin D from direct sunlight to keep our bones healthy and avoid diseases such as osteoporosis. Similarly, a number of studies have shown that simply spending time in contact with nature and not just outdoors (in a park or in the countryside), can increase our creativity and our cognitive function. So if you have a chance, have lunch outside, preferably in the park, and get some sun.
Keep in mind that exercise is easier outdoors. That’s how it is. There are plenty of ways to be physically active indoors – of course – and it is also possible to be inactive outdoors – of course. But, as a general rule, it is easier to exercise outdoors. This is especially true for children, who are less likely than adults to use home gym equipment such as treadmills or spinning bikes, which adults use to exercise in a controlled environment and may more comfortable.
Why is the outdoors more conducive to exercise? For one thing, there is plenty of room to move around, and many typical outdoor activities require movement. But not only that. Normally, we feel more inspired to exercise when we are outdoors, and many studies have found that the color green helps to make exercise easier in the same way that red and yellow subconsciously provoke hunger. We can find a lot of green color outdoors in plants, trees, grass …
