Our Natural Health Service: The Great Outdoors!

As our society becomes more technologically advanced, many of our activities are completed indoors, while our time outdoors shrinks. It is entirely possible to go a whole day and spend no more than a few minutes outside. We even exercise inside. We work out using video games, in gyms, on treadmills and stationary bikes.

Exercising is really good for us, and a recent review of studies published in the research journal Environmental Science and Technology concluded that exercising outdoors is even better! Studies showed an improvement in mental well-being when exercising outdoors as compared to exercising indoors. Exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalization, increased energy and positive engagement. Participants also reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and stated that they were more likely to repeat the outdoor activity.

Exercising outdoors is also free of cost. There’s more freedom, more space, and you don’t have to pay a gym membership to experience any of it. Also consider the benefits of sun and fresh air. The sun is a great mood booster and it is one of the best ways to get the vitamin D our bodies need. Endorphins, which can raise your mood and keep it stable, are released when one spends time in the sun. A walk outdoors is the perfect remedy for a bad mood! Who doesn’t prefer the smell of nature to the smell of their treadmill neighbor’s sweat? The great outdoors gives you constantly changing scenery that stimulates and excites your brain. Your mind can get a workout at the same time your body does when you exercise outdoors. I’d like to share a favorite maxim of the SANC teachers:

“There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.”

Get out and take advantage of this Natural Health Service!