Well-Being and the Great Outdoors

Physical activity is one of the most effective ways to prevent chronic disease, premature death as well as improve health and immune function. It is well-documented that people who regularly exercise feel better, live longer, and have a much better quality of life.  A less well-known aspect of exercise is the mounting evidence that exercise has on mental health as well.  A central goal of stress management is to get blood flowing to your brain and body.  Exercise increases brain volume and has been found as effective as meds for mild depression.  The most powerful study on exercise to-date found that exercise can overcome genetic issues that lead to brain atrophy and depression.

And, at its most fundamental, we live and work more effectively if we are comfortable in our own bodies.

Why Exercise Outdoors?

While quality exercise is essential for good physical and mental health, exercising outdoors around nature, fresh air and sunshine provides numerous additional benefits for the mind and body. Research in a growing scientific field called ecotherapy has shown a strong connection between time spent in nature and reduced stress, anxiety, and depression.

Because of modern technology, people are spending more time indoors than ever before. Getting outside and breathing fresh air has numerous important benefits. Furthermore, sunlight is the most natural way for us to get the necessary vitamin D that our bodies require.

If you’re looking for some form of natural healing to achieve or maintain a positive mental state, what better place to start than outside in nature? You may instinctively feel the benefits of a day at the beach or a weekend wilderness jaunt, but is there any real evidence that being outdoors is good for your mental health?

While it has yet to be determined whether activities such as walking through a desert or sitting on a bench in a city park are as restorative as, say, hiking on a wooded mountain trail or swimming in coastal waters, researchers at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City have found that there are significant mental health benefits to be gained from participating in outdoor activities. Their systematic review of the existing literature on the mental health benefits of nature-based recreation, recently published in the Journal of Leisure Research, confirmed that spending time outdoors, and especially participating in outdoor activities, can lead to a variety of positive mental health outcomes.

More than 80% of the relevant research papers reviewed for this study reported at least one association between outdoor activities and positive mental health outcomes, while none reported a single negative mental health outcome. The most common positive benefits seen were significant reductions in stress and anxiety after time spent in nature, as well as increased positive affect, or elevated mood. The overall positive effects documented in these studies were often described using terms such as “psychological healing,” “increased sense of well-being,” and “restorative.” Overall, the study authors found that nature-based recreation has a strong potential to improve mental health outcomes in areas of general well-being, resilience, restoration, and cognition, with some potential for decreasing symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression.