5 Reasons to Spend Time Outdoors Right Now

We’ve all been feeling trapped indoors for quite some time now. Even the little bit that we are allowed to go out feels restrictive and doesn’t provide us with our much-needed stress relief, but we’re all about staying positive in any situation, no matter how difficult. We made that clear in our article on positive results of the Coronavirus. Remember, just because we can’t go to most public places, that doesn’t mean we can’t go anywhere at all. In fact, now is probably the best time ever to be going outdoors and into nature.

But why nature? Why even leave the house? First of all, there’s never a bad reason to go out and spend some time in nature, but if that’s not convincing enough, then here are 5 more reasons why it’s a good idea to get outdoors during this crisis:

1. We all need to get out of the house more often. We can be pretty introverted ourselves (it’s not easy putting ourselves out there in our blog or on instagram), but now more than ever, we all need to get outside as much as possible. Being inside too long just doesn’t give us the opportunity to relieve our stresses, especially since, for many of us, we have literally brought our work home with us. Researchers have found that only 120 minutes in nature per week has positive effects on health. We personally spend a lot of time outside and always make a point to explore natural areas or go hiking when we’re on vacation. We touch more on the “why” later in this list.
2. No mask required. This one’s pretty self explanatory, but you don’t need a mask when you’re walking through the woods or hiking up a mountain. Oddly enough, wearing a mask in a select few public places has been one of the biggest complaints among people around the world who are frustrated with the current situation. As mentioned, there’s no need for a mask in the great outdoors.
3. It’s so much easier to maintain social distancing. There are usually no confined spaces in nature where you will find yourself too close to other people, meaning it’s easy to fulfill the general recommendation of avoiding large groups.
4. It’s a great way to get some exercise. You don’t have to do a 10 mile hike. Just walking on a level surface for an hour or two is a good way to stretch, get your blood flowing and activate your muscles. Plus, you’ll be so focused on taking in your surroundings that you won’t be thinking about it as “a workout”.
5. Clear your mind. We briefly mentioned this before, but getting outdoors is the ultimate way to clear your mind and improve focus. Speaking from experience, being out in nature brings about a sense of clarity and purpose that you just can’t get when you’re locked up in your house or office. Once you’re out in nature and really taking it all in, you will quickly come to realizations about yourself and the world around you. You’ll begin thinking about what’s really important to you, you’ll establish personal goals and you may even change your attitude toward various things. If you’re a nature lover like us, then you already know what we’re talking about. If you don’t spend much time in nature, then we highly encourage you to change that.

What do you think? Are you going to take advantage of this opportunity to reconnect with nature? Have you already been spending lots of time outdoors? Where are you going to go next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section and feel free to build on what we wrote. We’d love to hear from you! 🙂