5 Surprising Benefits Of Getting Outside In Nature

It’s been a hard year for many of us, with a lot of people being stuck in isolation and separated from close friends or family.

As such, it’s critical during these trying times that we do whatever we can to nourish and protect our mental and physical health.

Despite various levels of the lockdown, most countries have allowed people to get outside in nature, which can have HUGE healing benefits on our physical, mental, and emotional state.

If you can, try to make getting outside at least once a day into a habit, even if it’s just 5 minutes at your local park.

So if you’ve been feeling a little down recently, a dose of nature may just be exactly what you need!

Here are 5 surprising benefits that getting outside in nature can have on us:

1. Helps Us Get Exercise

As mentioned in this article by WebMD, just getting outside in nature can help to get us moving! Exercise has been proven to have countless benefits on our mental and physical health. But it can be difficult to get the exercise our bodies need when we’re stuck indoors all day.

Remember exercise doesn’t have to be intense. Even just a quick 15 minute walk each day can have huge health benefits.

2. Boost Our Vitamin D

Vitamin D has been proven to have a range of health benefits including naturally boosting our immune system. Your body needs sunlight to produce Vitamin D naturally, but you don’t need that much.

Even just getting outside in the open air can help (and yes, this applies even if you live in a predominantly cloudy country like England).

3. Reduce Anxiety

Even something as simple as having a plant in a room or using some high-quality essential oils around the house can help to make us feel more relaxed and at ease.

If you can get outside, even better! Sunlight has been shown to help raise our energy and keep our minds calm, positive, and focused.

4. Improve Sleep Quality

The outdoors can also help to set your sleep cycle. That’s because the cells in your eyes need enough natural light to get your body’s internal clock working right.

Early morning sunlight in particular has been shown to help people get to sleep at night. 

5. Boost Creativity

You may have heard the expression before, that creativity is all around us! Well, it’s true!

Being stuck in one place for too long can really hamper our creativity and leave us feeling stuck in a rut. So if you’re struggling for ideas or you feel you’ve lost your creative spark – try getting outside in nature more often!

You’ll be amazed by the inspiration you can draw from the world around you.