Outside Every Day Challenge: Outdoor Activities and Their Powerful Benefits
Outdoor activities, including play, movement, and intentional being (as opposed to mindless doing), have numerous mental, physical, and spiritual health benefits.
If you do not spend much time outdoors now, I am confident that you will feel a difference in your well-being after spending time outside each day for a month.
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The Health Benefits of Outdoor Activities
1. Mental Health
Please note that I am not a mental health expert or practitioner, and you should consult with a mental health professional for your mental healthcare. This is not mental health advice.
There are numerous mental health benefits associated with being outside in green spaces. A quick search of PubMed indicates that a lot of research still needs to be conducted to determine the extent to which being out in nature helps improve our mental health and why.
It is no secret that I live with anxiety and depression. Being outside in nature lifts my mood, lowers my anxiety, and relieves my stress. While outdoors, I can limit or stop ruminating about events of the past or future. I think it also increases my mindfulness and creativity. My experience out in nature provides me with a level of serenity that is not available to me inside.
How do you nourish your mental health? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
2. Physical Health
Please note that I am not a medical expert or physician, and you should consult with a medical professional for your healthcare. This is not medical advice.
Vitamin D
Exposure to sunlight, which boosts our bodies’ production of vitamin D, provides many of the physical health benefits of being out in nature. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and, therefore, for strong, healthy bones.
Vitamin D has various additional health benefits even beyond facilitating calcium absorption:
“In addition to classic actions related to mineral homeostasis, vitamin D has novel actions in cell proliferation and differentiation, regulation of the innate and adaptative immune systems, preventive effects on cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and even antiaging effects.”
Gil, Plaza-Diaz, Mesa 2018
Stated more simply, vitamin D may help our immune systems, cardiovascular systems, nervous systems, and more.
Physical Activity
Being outdoors also provides more opportunities to be physically active, which also has a host of health benefits for most people. For example, exercises that raise one’s heart rate can support the cardiovascular system, including heart health and blood flow to crucial organs. Physical activity is also beneficial for developing good bone health and preventing muscular atrophy.
(Note: Exercise may be harmful if your caloric intake is low enough to create an energy deficit or if you struggle with an eating disorder.)
Other
“Greenspace exposure is associated with wide ranging health benefits, with meta-analyses results showing statistically significant associations with reduced diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, salivary cortisol, incidence of type II diabetes and stroke, all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, as well as health-denoting associations with pregnancy outcomes, HRV, and HDL cholesterol, and self-reported health…[and]…non-pooled outcomes including neurological outcomes, respiratory mortality, and increased sleep duration.”
Twohig-Bennett, Jones 2018)
How do you maintain your physical health? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
3. Spiritual Health
Please note that I am not an expert in spirituality or religion, and you should consult with someone you trust for spiritual healthcare. This is not advice.
Many of us now equate spirituality with religion. And, for those of us who reject formal religions, we often fail to recognize the importance of maintaining our spiritual health.
For me, spirituality is my connection with something greater than myself. It is how I transcend my relationship with material possessions and connect with Mother Nature and how I discover and practice my purpose in the world. I experience my spirituality when I am entirely immersed in the present moment–when I am in a state of flow.
I have never accessed my spirituality indoors, except maybe with my niblings. (Niblings is the gender-neutral term for nieces and nephews.) I struggle to connect with my spirituality in any human-built environment.
One of the most significant spiritual moments in my life occurred while I was hiking in Colorado. After trekking for a long time and being fooled by several false summits, I finally reached the top of a ridge, and there was a whole herd of elk at the top to greet me. It felt magical. I live for moments like these.
How do you nourish your spiritual health? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
Outdoor Activities
1. Play
There are unlimited ways to play outdoors. You can chase your friends (or kids) around while playing tag, use your imagination, or even play organized sports. If you play something that requires equipment (e.g., a sports ball), try to borrow it from a friend or buy it used.
Here are a few ideas:
- American football (be careful!)
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Catch
- Cricket
- Dodgeball
- Fetch with a dog
- Follow-the-Leader
- Four Square
- Frisbee
- Golf
- Hide-and-seek
- Hot Lava Monster
- Lacrosse
- Make Believe/Pretend Play
- Red Rover
- Soccer (i.e., football)
- Softball
- Tag
- Teather ball
- Volleyball
My favorite is playing fetch with my dog. What is your favorite way to play outside? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
2. Movement (Fossil Fuel-Free)
There are numerous ways to get from one place to another outdoors. You can use your feet on land, your whole body in water, or even partner with a horse! If you choose a mode of movement that requires equipment (e.g., a surfboard), try to borrow it from a friend or buy it used.
Here are a few ideas:
- Bicycling
- Canoeing/Kayaking
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Jogging
- Rock climbing
- Rollerblading or rollerskating
- Running
- Skateboarding
- Skiing/Snowshoeing (okay, probably not in June for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere)
- Snorkeling
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Walking (including dog-walking)
My favorite is hiking. What is your favorite movement-related outdoor activity? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
3. Slowing Down
There are unlimited ways to slowly and intentionally spend time outdoors. You can do practices that cultivate inner peace, enjoy the flavors and textures of good food and beverage, or interact harmoniously with the fungi, plants, and animals you encounter. If you practice something that requires equipment (e.g., binoculars), try to borrow it from a friend or buy it used.
Here are a few ideas:
- Birdwatching (and/or listening)
- Composting
- Enjoying your favorite beverage (coffee, tea, wine, etc.)
- Gardening
- Journaling
- Meditating
- Picnicking
- Practicing yoga
- Reading
- Wildlife-watching and identification
My favorites are gardening and observing wildlife. What is your favorite slow, intentional outdoor activity? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
June #WildSustainabilityChallenge: Outdoor Activities
Participate in an outdoor activity every day during June.
You can do it! Please take a picture of your activity and share it on social media with the hashtag #WildSustainabilityChallenge so we can all be inspired by one another. Let us know how the challenge is going in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Instagram!
References
Gil Á, Plaza-Diaz J, Mesa MD. Vitamin D: Classic and Novel Actions. Ann Nutr Metab. 2018;72(2):87-95. doi: 10.1159/000486536. Epub 2018 Jan 18. PMID: 29346788.
Twohig-Bennett C, Jones A. The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes. Environ Res. 2018 Oct;166:628-637. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.06.030. Epub 2018 Jul 5. PMID: 29982151; PMCID: PMC6562165.
