Health Benefits of Being Outdoors
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“… an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things.
”
“It is a scientific fact that the occasional contemplation of natural scenes of an impressive character, particularly if this contemplation occurs in connection with relief from ordinary cares, change of air and change of habits, is favorable to the health and vigor of men and especially to the health and vigor of their intellect… ”
When Wordsworth, Olmsted and others offered their observations, there was little in the way of supporting research. Today, motivated by the health issues of obesity, depression, ADHD, and pervasive nearsightedness, a growing body of research documents how spending time outside, and being active, secures a wealth of potential benefits, from increasing our immune response to improving short-term memory (Williams 2016).
As we enter the 21st Century, half the human population lives in cities. This urbanized humanity is forecast to rise to 70 percent with the next few decades. Spending up to seven hours per day staring at screens of their mobile devices and computer screens (exclusive of school time!), today’s children are likely to spend half as much time outdoors as their parents.
Richard Louv (2012) cautions that our growing disconnect with nature, our “nature-deficit disorder,” threatens our health, our spirit, our economy, and our future stewardship of the environment. He observes that the more high-tech our lives become, the more nature we need to achieve natural balance, and that the mind/body/nature connection (vitamin N), will enhance our physical and mental health.
Watching people at play outdoors.
Simply stated, being outdoors is good for our mental and physical health. An increasing body of research suggests that people benefit from a “minimum dose of nature.” Here are some insights:
1) Getting Outdoors [typically] Increases Physical Activity. While you can be active at home or at the gym, we tend to be more active outdoors, from raking leaves to taking a hike. This is particularly true with children who commonly spend a good deal of time indoors, sitting down, and sedentary with their electronic media. One study, which tracked the activity of 1,000 children, found that the children were more than doubly active when they were outside (Harvard Health Letter, 2010).
As Lee (2017) observes, “Think about how much of your time indoors is spent remaining relatively motionless, such as sitting in front of a computer or in a meeting, texting on the toilet or staring at the Kardashians on television. Can you really do the same outdoors without feeling odd or being arrested? Being outdoors in many ways forces you to be more active. Trails make you hike. Hills and mountains make you climb them. Bigfoot makes you run.”
“If outdoor activity encourages more activity, then it is a good thing,” says Jacqueline Kerr, a professor at the University of California, San Diego. After all, “despite the fitness industry boom, we are not seeing changes in national physical activity levels, so gyms are not the answer” (Reynolds, 2013).
2) Sunshine & Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps defend us against everything from cancer and osteoporosis to heart attacks and stroke. Many of us who spend more and more time indoors don't have enough vitamin D. Getting outdoors in the sunshine on a regular basis and exposing our arms and legs for 10-15 minutes will give us a beneficial dose of the “sunshine vitamin.”
A note on sun screen. While sun screens are important to protect our skin from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light, they also inhibit production of Vitamin D since they work to block ultraviolet B (UVB) light, which causes sunburn but also the generation of vitamin D. To strike a balance, experts recommend we get our Vitamin D producing sun for short periods, while using sun screen when out for extended periods, particularly during the middle of the day.
3) Nature Improves Mental Health. Research suggests that when we get outdoors in a natural setting, city park or wildness, our minds get an escape from the busywork, slow down, and simply enjoy the surroundings. The experience restores our energy and sharpens our mental performance. A study conducted by the University of Queensland (2016) demonstrated that 30 minutes of nature exposure per week reduced depression prevalence by up to seven percent.
Researchers at Stanford University (Jordan 2015) found that people who walk for 90 minutes in nature, as opposed to high-traffic urban settings, showed decreased activity in a region of the brain associated with a key factor in depression. City dwellers were found to have a 20 percent higher risk of anxiety disorders and a 40 percent higher risk of mood disorders as compared to people in rural areas. People born and raised in cities are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia.
4) Boost to Concentration. Playing off ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Richard Louv (2006) coined the term "nature-deficit disorder" in Last Child in the Woods. In fact, research has found that children with ADHD seem to focus better after being outdoors. A University of Illinois (2008) study found that children with ADHD scored higher on a test of concentration after a walk through a park than after a walk through a residential neighborhood or downtown area.
5) Helps Prevent Nearsightedness. Nearsightedness (myopia) has been on the rise in children in recent years. In parts of the world where people spend most of their time indoors, rates of myopia have skyrocketed. By adulthood, one in three people in the United States has myopia. In parts of Asia, more than 95 percent of children and teens may wear glasses to correct for myopia. A Canadian study (Science News 2016) found that for one additional hour of outdoor time per week, the risk a child will develop myopia drops by about 14 percent. A systematic review looked at 25 recently published studies and found increased outdoor time to be protective for the development of myopia – about an extra 1.25 hours per day compared with control/baseline time spent outdoors reduced the risk of onset of myopia by 50%. Time outdoors had a stronger protective effect in children aged 6 years compared with kids aged 11 to 12 years enrolled in longitudinal studies (Brien Holden, 2017).
Forest Service Literature Review. The U.S. Forest Service Ecosystem Service Team in Portland, Oregon worked to translate scientific findings from a literature search. Their findings:
Researchers are demonstrating the positive effects of nature on blood pressure, cholesterol, outlook on life, and stress reduction. It has also proved beneficial to those with attention deficit disorder (Kuo and Taylor 2004).
People who walk 15 to 30 minutes a day are healthier than people who don’t—they have fewer diseases, are less likely to get cancer, have a lower risk of heart attack and stroke, and have better bone density.
Walking improves digestion and decreases the risk of intestinal cancer, reduces risk of type II diabetes, and reduces insulin dependency of diabetics. Walking recalibrates energy/fat storage so the body becomes more efficient and trim. Walking helps the kidneys, the lymphatic system, and the joints. It also diminishes some types of arthritis (Hartman 2006).
Research at Duke University in 1999 found that a brisk 30-minute walk three times a week was more effective in reducing depression symptoms than Zoloft® alone or Zoloft® and walking, and walkers were less likely to have a recurrence of depression (Hartman 2006).
“Parks and other natural environments are a fundamental health resource, particularly in terms of disease prevention” (Maller et al. 2008).
Spending time in nature also has been linked to longevity and decreased risk of mental illness in studies in Scandinavia and the Netherlands (De Vries et al. 2003, Grahn and Stigsdotter 2003).
Health benefits of nature may also have relevance to injury prevention and control, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, musculoskeletal conditions, and other maladies, including cancer (Li 2009).
A Japanese study of men and women on a 3-day/2-night trip to a forest included short walks each day (Li 2009). Blood and urine samples were tested during and following the trip. Results suggest that a monthly trip in nature could provide maintenance levels of cells that work to prevent cancer generation and development, among other benefits.
Breathing in antimicrobial compounds found in the essential oils of trees increases relaxation and improves stress management resulting in increased vitality and less anxiety, depression, and anger. It also may decrease risk of psychosocial-stress related diseases.
So the next time that someone tells you to “take a hike,” thank them and get outside.
References
Brien Holden Vision Institute. 2017. Time Spent Outdoors – How Effective in Myopia Prevention and Control? https://www.brienholdenvision.org/news/item/102-time-spent-outdoors-how-effective-in-myopia-prevention-and-control.html
De Vries, S.; Verheij, R.; Groenewegen, H.; Spreeuwenberg, P. 2003. Natural environments—healthy environments? An exploratory analysis of the relationship between green space and health. Environment and Planning. 35(10): 1717–1731.
Ferguson, Jill. 2017. 5 benefits of being outdoors. June 10, 2017. (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5-benefits-of-being-outdoors_us_5938266ce4b014ae8c69dce0)
Grahn, P.; Stigsdotter, U.A. 2003. Landscape planning and stress. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 2: 1–18.
Hartmann, T. 2006. Walking your blues away: how to heal the mind and create emotional well-being. Rochester, VT: Park St. Press. 112 p.
Harvard Health Letter. 2010. A prescription for better health: go alfresco, July, 2010. (https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/a-prescription-for-better-health-go-alfresco)
Jordan, Rob. 2015. Stanford researchers find mental health prescription: Nature. Study finds that walking in nature yields measurable mental benefits and may reduce risk of depression. https://news.stanford.edu/2015/06/30/hiking-mental-health-063015/
Kuo, F.; Taylor, A. 2004. A potential natural treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health. 94(9): 1580–1586.
Lee, Bruce Y. 2017. 10 Health Problems That the Outdoors Can Help Prevent And Treat. Forbes, January 8, 2017
Li, Q. 2009. Effect of forest bathing trips on human immune function. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine. 15(1): 9–17.
Louv, Richard. 2006. Last Child in the Woods- Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. 334 pages.
Louv, Richard. 2012. The Nature Principle- Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. 330 pages.
Maller, C.; Townsend, M.; St. Leger, L.; et al. 2008. Healthy parks, healthy people: the health benefits of contact with nature in a park context. Melbourne, Australia: Deakin University and Parks Victoria.
PerfectMind Blog. 10 Health Benefits of an Outdoor Lifestyle. http://blog.perfectmind.com/10-health-benefits-of-an-outdoor-lifestyle
Reynolds, Gretchen. 2013. The benefits of exercising outdoors. New York Times, February 21, 2013. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/the-benefits-of-exercising-outdoors/?_r=1
Oosthoek, Sharon. 2016. Outdoor time is good for your eyes. Science News, December 20, 2016. https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/outdoor-time-good-your-eyes
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2008. A Walk in the Park Improves Attention in Children with ADHD. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081015120742.htm
University of Queensland. 2016. Dose of Nature is just what the doctor ordered. https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2016/06/dose-of-nature-just-what-doctor-ordered
U.S. Forest Service. Health and Wellness Benefits of Spending Time in Nature. https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/about/programs/gsv/pdfs/health_and_wellness.pdf
Wallace, Jennifer. 2017. Why it’s good for grown-ups to go play. Washington Post, May 20, 2017 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/why-its-good-for-grown-ups-to-go-play/2017/05/19/99810292-fd1f-11e6-8ebe-6e0dbe4f2bca_story.html?utm_term=.865e78b83c9b
Williams, Florence. 2016. This is your brain on nature. National Geographic (January 2016) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/01/call-to-wild/
William, Florence. 2017. The Nature Fix. W.W. Norton & Company. 304 pages.
Whitney Tilt - April 2017