5 Reasons to get outdoors each day!
Most of us spend the majority of our workdays indoors, in front of a computer and far away from natural light. We seek our energy from caffeine, other sources of sugar and get minimal exposure to sunlight and the outdoor elements which proves hazardous to our emotional and mental health.
Here’s five top reasons (there are so many) to get outdoors each day…
1. Being outdoors can boost your immune system
Some scientists believe that breathing in phytoncides, the airborne chemicals produced by plants, can increase our white blood cell count and help us fight off diseases and infections. Why not trial the theory and go for walks beneath trees and in a nearby garden during your lunch break?
2. Natural aromatherapy.
Go ahead and buy yourself a bunch of flowers. Turns out that stopping to smell the roses, walking across freshly cut grass and enjoying pine-scented forests amongst other natural scents can make you feel calmer and more relaxed. Well if the research says so?!
3. Get your vitamin D on
Whilst Vitamin D can be found in foods like fortified milk and salmon, 90% of ours comes from exposure to the sun. So even if it’s not summer or super-hot, grab your lunch outdoors and bask in the sunlight. Vitamin D is brilliant for reducing inflammation, helping us absorb calcium and preventing osteoporosis.
4. Restore you focus and boost your creativity
Can’t concentrate at your desk or battling writer’s block? Studies show that walking in nature can restore your focus and that after unplugging for a while, people showed higher levels of creativity after a few days outdoors. Tell your boss it’s high time you need to unplug.
5. The outdoors makes us happier, better people
Research shows that spending time outdoors and in nature helps us to be mindful of valuing more important things such as community, relationships and sharing and be less focused on pressures society throws our way.
Bottom line; unplug, take a digital detox, be good to yourself by lunching outdoors, go camping for the weekend, visit gardens in your city, feel the sand between your toes and the grass beneath your feet. If you can get the time away, enquire about one of our ‘THE Whole Me’ retreats where you visit one of the most beautiful parts of the world (Cape Town or Zanzibar) to refresh, reconnect and rejuvenate and take time to focus on you.