Hello once again everyone!  Here we are, as I had promised, with part 2 of our Outdoor Benefits posts.  I know that many of you enjoyed part 1 so hopefully you will also enjoy this one.  Spending time outside really is important for both our physical and mental health.  There have been so many studies over the years to prove all of the many benefits to spending time outdoors.  Today we want to look at some of those so you can see for yourself just how this is so important for everyone.

You know, just going outside you are more likely to want to exercise than if you stayed indoors.  And that is especially true for children.  With outdoor exercise you don’t need to have a gym membership, you don’t need transportation, you don’t even need any special equipment.  And actually, many of your gym exercises you can do outside in your own yard or at your local park.  Just being on uneven ground while you exercise can help you with varying your workout and help you to burn more calories.  Around here that is easy, most of our ground is hilly, like the forest path I use for walking.  One hill is about 500 feet (152 meters) and very steep and rugged.

Of course, when you go outside, it isn’t just nature that you will see.  You will also have more connection to the people in your neighborhood and community.  Contact with other people is always a good thing for our well being.  So why not plan to meet up with a friend.  Then you can go for a walk together and we can be an encouragement to each other to keep on with our walking or whatever other exercise you have planned.

And it doesn’t take a lot of time.  If you’re not used to spending much time outside, start small.  Even just 5 minutes a day to start will make you feel better about yourself and give you more confidence.  It’s especially so if you are by a green space, park or body of water.  And guess what?  It’s not the real high intensity type of exercising that works the best.  A more relaxed type of exercise is actually supposed to be better.  Something like a walk, riding a bike or working in your garden are things that work the best for people.  But everyone is different of course so time and type of exercise can vary from person to person.  But mainly we are talking here about starting off with outdoor exercising.

Well, I think we will keep it there for part 2 of our mini series on Outdoor Benefits.  Stay tuned though, there will be a part 3 coming as well.  I hope you are enjoying this, have a wonderful day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

© 2019 Steve McLeod.