Welcome to our first blog in the “Outdoors for Wellbeing” series. We have heard about and witnessed first hand how spending time outside can improve our wellbeing. So we thought it would be a good idea to pull together what we’ve learnt from our own experiences, the people we work with and other organisations.

 

There is a lot of scientific evidence that being outdoors and being active can improve our mental health and wellbeing. Spending as little as five minutes in green spaces was found to be beneficial.

Here are some of the things it can help with:

Mood and energy levels – Being active releases feel-good hormones that make you feel better in yourself and give you more energy.

Coping with stress and anxiety – This works in two ways. Physical activity releases a hormone called cortisol which helps us manage stress AND being out and moving gives your brain something to focus on and can help with racing, intrusive thoughts.

Sleep – Being out can make you feel more tired at the end of the day and aid your sleep, which has a huge impact on how well we feel.

Better self-esteem – Getting outside can sometimes feel like a challenge and overcoming it can make you feel a sense of satisfaction and achievement. And if you’re also able to do physical activity then you feel even better as you improve and meet your goals.

Inspiration and creativity – Many people find nature inspires them to create, it could be taking a photo, painting a picture, writing a poem etc. There are so many colours, textures, sounds and smells to experience outside and doing anything creative has its own benefits.

Reducing the risk of depression – Whilst regular physical activity and spending time outdoors are not a miracle cure, studies have shown that they can reduce the likelihood of experiencing a period of depression.

Feeling connected – When you’re out and about you’re more likely to come across people than if you stay indoors. Even exchanging a couple of sentences with someone can lift your mood and make you feel a part of a community.

Appreciation of other creatures – You would be surprised how many animals there are all around us and how easy it is to interact with them. For example you could watch and feed birds, which can make you feel good, help you relax and make you appreciate how we are all part of the same world.

What do you most like about being outside? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you!

 

Check out the other bogs in our #Outdoorsforwellbeing series

 

With thanks to:

The Mental Health Foundation, who’s Thriving with Nature guide has been very helpful in writing this blog

and Mind, who have so many great resources around mental heath and wellbeing.