There is something magical about being outside, surrounded by nature — grass, rocks, trees, water, wildlife, dirt, fresh air. The natural world has the ability to calm, center, and clear our minds on our most scattered days. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to spend many cumulative months immersed in nature, camping, backpacking, boating, hiking, and exploring. For me, those adventures coupled with emerging research, have illuminated the transformational power of being outside.
Studies are now proving what many people and cultures have intuitively known for centuries — humans need and benefit tremendously from a connection to the outdoors and when our world is devoid of nature, we experience discord. People with a closer connection to the natural world have lower stress levels and increased feelings of happiness, vitality, life-satisfaction, self-confidence, and self-discipline. Immersion in nature cultivates feelings of connection and cohesion — important feelings to nurture in our ever disconnected and fragmented world. Being outside helps humans understand that they’re an integral part of the rhythm of life on this planet, but also the clear understanding that life will go on without us. It gives perspective.
Yet, our modern lifestyles result in a decreased connection to the natural world. Most of us now live in in cities instead of rural areas, and spend almost all of our lives inside. Even if we manage to spend time outside, the built, urban environment often lacks natural elements. The result is a vitamin O deficiency.
Interestingly, indoor plants or simply having views to trees or grass outside can be beneficial. We now know that a view of nature speeds surgery recovery time in hospitalized patients, and improves attention, satisfaction, and performance in the workplace. If windows are not accessible (or if there’s simply no nature to be seen out the window) indoor plants can have a powerful positive effect. Office workers who have plants in their workspace report fewer sick-days and lower stress levels than their counterparts without plants in their offices, and patients in hospital rooms with plants have lower self-reported levels of stress and better pain tolerance than patients in rooms without plants. Indoor plants also improve air quality by removing toxins and carbon dioxide and by producing oxygen.
Children are especially at risk from the societal decline in outdoor time — not only do they miss out on the direct benefits of energy expenditure, the natural world is our first, and arguably best, classroom. Many studies have demonstrated the positive effect of time outside on academic achievement, with higher test scores seen across academic disciplines and improved problem solving ability, attention, self-esteem, and creativity. Exposure to bacteria in dirt, grass, and plants has also been theorized as a critical place of seed-bacteria for healthy human microbiomes. Ample time outdoors is beneficial for all children, but especially those with with attention, social, and integration issues (ADD, ADHD, autism spectrum, sensory processing disorders, etc.). Unfortunately, children are spending dramatically less time outside than previous generations and this loss of nature connection has been posited as one part of the equation driving increases in childhood depression, anxiety, and obesity. Some researchers hypothesize that there is a particularly critical time in childhood to develop a deep affinity for nature. If that connection isn’t established, it’s thought that it is more challenging to relate with nature and reap the positive benefits of that relationship. Getting little kids outside early and often is invaluable.
Whether you find nature in a small neighborhood park or a vast expanse of wilderness, the time spent outdoors will provide innumerable benefits — if you combine outdoor time with family time, physical activity, or meditation, the benefits will be even greater. It’s time to head outside.