George K.
Spending time outdoors can be very beneficial for your health and wellbeing, and the best part is that you can do it right at home in your own outdoor space. Studies have found that spending just a short amount of time per day getting some fresh air and being surrounded by nature can provide a significant boost to your mental and physical wellbeing. After a year of lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no surprise that a nice outdoor space is at the top of many priority lists when buying a new home, and many homeowners have decided to spruce up their gardens to make it easier for them to get all the benefits of spending time outside safely. Here are some of the main reasons to spend more time in your garden.
Improved Fitness
Depending on the size of your garden, it can be the perfect place for working out and keeping fit. Activities like gardening can be a gentle workout while fun at the same time, or you could use a larger garden for jogging or walking, using a skipping rope, and other cardiovascular exercises. If you have the space, you may even want to consider installing a pool in your garden so that you can go for a swim in the comfort of your own home, while hot tubs can be used for both relaxation and a variety of exercises to boost your fitness levels. If you enjoy lifting weights, doing it outdoors can be even more enjoyable.
Destress
Studies have found that spending at least half an hour of each day outside can help you to destress, improve mindfulness and reduce your chances of depression by up to 50%. After a year of lockdowns that have certainly taken their toll on many people’s mental health and wellbeing, spending time outdoors can help you counteract the effects of the past year and improve your mental health despite the pandemic.
Vitamin D
While the sun often gets a bad press due to the fact that it can cause sunburn and even lead to skin cancer, the good news is that when you take the right safety precautions before getting out in the sun, there are plenty of benefits to getting more sunshine. Spending time outdoors boosts your Vitamin D levels, which is essential for healthy bones, improves your mood, and helps you feel more energised and motivated. If you want to make sure that your outdoor space is suitable for spending more time outside in the sun this year, consider Ecoscape decking composites. Composite decking from Ecoscape UK is the perfect choice for creating a stunning outdoor area where you can relax in the nice weather. Made of 95% recycled materials, they are sustainable, durable, and easy to maintain.
Boost Creativity
If you are working from home currently and struggling to come up with ideas or solve problems in your home office, spending some time outdoors can help. Studies have found that going for a short walk outside can increase your creativity and help you come up with more innovative and unique ideas. And, if you are spending most of your day sitting down at your home office, going for a short walk around the garden can help you combat some of the adverse health effects of sitting for long periods, including reducing your risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease.
Bond with Family
After a year of working and schooling from home, it’s no surprise that many families are beginning to feel like they are getting under each other’s feet. Most people are not used to spending this much time with one another, and tensions can soon begin to rise. However, research has found that families who spend time together outside tend to be better at communicating with each other and have stronger bonds. You can do this by getting out and enjoying outdoor activities together like camping and cycling, but don’t forget the benefits of simply spending time together enjoying the weather in your own outdoor space at home.
Learn New Skills
Spending time in your outdoor space isn’t always about relaxing – sometimes, it can be a great place to learn a new skill. Whether you have always wanted to grow your own vegetables to eat at home or have been considering growing a certain type of plant or tree for a while, spending time outdoors and maintaining your outdoor space gives you the chance to learn and practice new skills.
Enjoy Some Peace and Quiet
Modern life is getting noisier and noisier, both in the literal sense of noise coming from the traffic outdoors to the TV and notifications on your smartphone and computer. Today, life is filled with tons of distractions that are often difficult to get away from and can lead to higher stress levels for many people. Spending time in your garden can help you get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and enjoy some peace and quiet. Whether you like to sit in your garden listening to music, reading a book, or spending time tending to your plants, you are sure to feel calmer and more refreshed afterwards.
Gain a Sense of Pride
Last but not least, spending time in your garden and tending to your outdoor space can be very fulfilling and rewarding. There is something extremely rewarding about watching plants grow when you know that you put them in the ground as seeds and have tended to their growth ever since. Your outdoor space gives you somewhere that you can be fully in control of, providing a huge amount of satisfaction that comes from nurturing and caring for living and growing things.
Over the past year, many of us have come to appreciate our outdoor spaces even more than ever before due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Spending more time outdoors in your garden can have a lot of positive effects on your health, mental wellbeing, family life and much more. Whether you enjoy planting flowers and crops or simply like relaxing outdoors, spending more time in your garden this year could be the boost that you need.
