We used to spend all of our time outside—way back when we were cavepeople. Since then, a lot has changed.
We need to get back outside.
As the built environment expanded and our priorities shifted, we’ve found ourselves on the other side of that coin. The average American spends 90% of their time indoors. This is an epidemic, and it is taxing our quality of life.
What are the consequences of being indoors?
Time indoors leads to a lack of exposure to our coexistence with nature and its benefits. We need sunlight, fresh air, and organic foods to be healthy. When these things are seen as a privilege, our health becomes transactional. The answers are not found in the perfect chemical composition but rather in a rich intake of nature. The more nature we add to our lives, whether it’s in our diet, movement, hobbies, or careers, the more healing, growing, and flourishing we’re capable of. Learning how we can spend more time outside is the first step.
Our relationship with nature.
We need nature to thrive. There is no world where you can be the best version of yourself without a relationship with nature. Contrary to what we’re led to believe by those who profit from exploiting our environment, we cannot live without nature. We are part of nature, and our coexistence is crucial to the sustainability and vitality of all biodiversity.
Instead of fixating on the laundry list of what is harmful about spending time inside, our focus is better spent on incorporating time in nature back into our lives. We’ve created a world where value is found in what man makes, but that value is leading us to disease, illness, and depression. Where there is a creation by man, there is an inspiration in nature.
We create our own vitamin D from the sun, yet we’re told to avoid the sun because of its cancer-causing consequences and take a supplement instead. Yes, overexposure to the sun can lead to skin cancer, but overexposure to anything is bad for our health.
We have the land and resources to farm the various array of produce we need to add all of the necessary nutrients into our diet. Instead, only some of us have access to the foods we need to be healthy, and yet many in that minority still opt for powders, pills, and poisons. Everything we need is found in nature, but we’re told the opposite and take the accessibility others have to it away from them.
The toxicity of the indoors.
Deprivation from nature leads to negative consequences on our moods, sleep, and mental health. Exposure to the toxicity of too much time indoors from both chemicals housed in our indoor spaces and lack of time in nature can lead to asthma, heart disease, depression, and more. There are so many negative outcomes from chronic time indoors with not a lot of good to back it up. When we spend too much time indoors, our bodies literally start to crumble. It’s a cry for help to reconnect with the things that make us human.
Being indoors deprives us of crucial vitamins, regulators, and cleansers. There are toxic chemicals found in the air in our homes and buildings that lead to illness from overexposure. It’s important to work on removing these products from our homes, and improving the health of our indoor spaces should be a priority. Leave your windows open as often as you can and read the ingredients on your cleaning, laundry, and household products. There is always a natural alternative to a chemical household product.
We aren’t meant to be inside all day, and we are definitely not meant to be sitting under fluorescent lights while doing it. The combination of the issues found in chronic time indoors is what leads to the devastations we are encountering. Little fixes on their own may not have more than the effect of making you feel better, but isn’t feeling a little bit better a win? Furthermore, combining the little things you start to do with consistency will leave you with a brand new life before you know it.
What are the benefits of being outdoors?
Spending the majority of your day outside will improve your sleep, health, mood, physical health, immune health, and mental health. Spending time outside works to regulate your circadian rhythm, increase the fresh air you bring into your lungs, produce more vitamin D, improve digestion, broaden your perspective, find inspiration, and reduce anxiety symptoms. There are countless benefits to rediscovering how your life fits into the outside world, and it starts with making some changes to your current lifestyle.
How to spend more time outside.
If you’re more inspired to maximize the time you spend in the fresh air or prioritize more trips in the great outdoors, check out my blog post here.
What’s something that has brought you indoors that you want to change? Drop it in the comments. Mine’s TV shows!
References
Scott. “Here Are the Negative Effects of Staying Indoors Too Long.” PricePro Pharmacy, July 21, 2021. https://www.pricepropharmacy.com/here-are-the-negative-effects-of-staying-indoors-too-long/.
US EPA, ORD. “Indoor Air Quality.” Reports and Assessments, November 2, 2017. https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality.
