During the recent lock down it was (whether you believed that social distancing did any good in combating COVID-19 or not), a time when not many places were open for business and on top of that, children were not at school and many jobs were also no longer places we had to spend a majority of our time at if we were not an essential worker, and for some this combination of isolation and disruption of the daily status quo lead to cabin fever, stress, and boredom.
Where we might usually go shopping, join a class, have a few drinks with friends or even just go out and relax in our favorite restaurants to enjoy a well prepared meal, many of those options were temporarily closed off to us, perhaps leading to a question of where we could go to get out of the house, especially if you had binge watched everything on Netflix already.
One answer was indeed to reconnect with nature, a place definitely large enough to accommodate more than six feet of distance between you and anyone else all while reminding you that while the world’s problems may have loomed large while watching the daily news broadcasts they were actually miniscule compared to the awesome shows Mother Nature created daily for our viewing pleasure.
Far beyond the mere mindless joy you may get from watching Tiger King or old Simpsons re-runs, nature also has many benefits to both your mind and body.
Many apps and recordings like to bank on the fact that they can bring the outdoors indoors with the intentions to allow you to meditate, relax, and let go of stress and strain, but they pale in comparison to the sensations you get when you kick off your shoes and wade your feet in the water of a river or lake or feel the grass between your toes under the shade of a tree.
Additionally, reconnecting with the natural side of our world can have many physical health benefits as well that eating another bag of Cheetos and watching another episode of The Office just cannot do.
Some health experts recommend children spend at least sixty-minutes outdoors a day resulting in a lower mass body indexes, making them less likely to develop myopia, and even improved motor skills as well as giving a daily shot of good old fashion exercise.
The adults have health reasons to tackle a trail rather than the trail mix as well.
Beyond the aforementioned stress relief such as the claims that outdoor activity could lower the risks for both diabetes and heart attacks by half, a possible thirty-percent reduction in colon cancer risk, increase your vitamin-D intake which by itself almost has too many positive impacts to mention here such as a better immune system, bone health, reduced cancer risk and even combating psychological ills like depression and anxiety.
The best part is that even if your lock down days seem behind you and the world is once again ripe with the fruits of dining and shopping, you can still make it a point to go outdoors and experience the natural world around you, even if you spent your time in COVID acting more like something naturally planted in your couch than the forest. “
