Now that the weather is getting balmier, it’s time to do what we should be doing all along — going outside.
Getting outdoors has been shown in various studies to improve mood and lower stress, increase energy levels and encourage people to exercise longer than they do inside. It’s also the best way to get your vitamin D, though older people or those with darker skin are less able to synthesize the chemical from UVB rays, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Read on to learn about some of the ways that just stepping outside the door benefits your mental and physical health.
Reduces stress
Research conducted by Qing Li of the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo and published in 2022 by Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine found multiple health benefits from forest bathing, which originated in Japan as shinrin-yoku.
This includes a decrease in three stress-related hormones after people spent time in forested settings, with a larger effect on adrenaline, which affects psychological stress, than noradrenaline, which is tied to physical stress.
Lowers risk of depression
A link between spending time outdoors and improved depressive symptoms has shown up in research numerous times, including a 2022 study from University College London published in Scientific Reports focusing on UK residents during the first national COVID-19 lockdown. It reported more days spent outside by subjects led to greater life satisfaction and fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, though no impact was found on another factor, loneliness.
Increases creativity
A study out of Osaka and Kyoto Tachibana universities published by Frontiers in Psychology in 2023 compared the effects of indoor and outdoor exercise on creativity, finding that brain activity in a section associated with “divergent creativity” increased during activity done outside, and participants also tested higher on a flow state scale for absorption and positive emotional experience after running outdoors.
Helps vision
In 2023, Scientific Reports published a study by several mostly Australian scientists who followed a group of young participants over the course of 14 years, finding higher sun exposure in childhood was associated with lower risk of myopia in young adulthood, while spending more time outdoors during late adolescence and young adulthood was also associated with a lower risk of myopia onset during this time.
Aids immune response
A 2022 review of 33 studies by researchers published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health linked strengthened immunity to spending time in natural settings. It found significant improvements in several related measures, including the number of natural killer cells, reduced allergy and asthma symptoms and anti-inflammatory effects.
Improves sleep
In 2021, a study published in Population Medicine from the University of Louisville reported participants who spent between four and eight hours outdoors per week reported higher quality sleep than those who spent less than four hours a week.
However, sleep quality was found to decline when they spent 12 or more hours outside per week.
