One of the best ways to stay healthy is to be active and have a consistent exercise routine. There are many different types of physical activities that can suit your individual fitness levels. However, it has been shown that outdoors exercise has a number of additional health benefits compared to indoors exercise.
Physical wellbeing
- Outdoors activity lowers blood pressure and heart rate, making the exercise feel less strenuous than similar indoor exercises, helping you achieve maximum performance
- Getting fresh air whilst exercising helps alleviate insomnia, and if done regularly, outdoors activities will help you improve the quality of your sleep
- You can enjoy the sunshine whilst exercising outdoors, providing you with vitamin D and enhancing energy generation in the muscles
- Studies show that walking or running outdoors help burn 10% more calories than doing it indoors because of the change in environment in the environment and paths
Mental wellbeing
- Exercising releases endorphins, a hormone related to the feelings of euphoria and happiness that improve your mood overall
- Endorphins also naturally reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and specifically exercising outdoors is known to further increase the release of these hormones and increase their benefits
- Exercising outdoors exposes you to direct sunlight, and studies have shown this increases levels of serotonin, the body’s natural mood stabiliser. This makes it a natural way to enhance your mood and decrease feelings of anxiety and depression
- Norepinephrine is another hormone released whilst exercising, and is known for boosting your mood and cognition, helping you manage and respond to stress more efficiently. Another study in Japan demonstrated exercising outdoors can reduce cortisol levels in your body, which is the hormone in charge of causing stress
- Research has found that spending even as little as five minutes outdoors doing low to moderate impact exercises such as walking or cycling can improve self-esteem, boosted by being near greenery and watery nature features
Individual development
- Spend more time enjoying nature and get to know your surrounding areas by walking and exploring around
- Exercise outdoors to help you break your gym workout routines and exercises, and enhance your coordination and mobility. Try something new! Outdoor activities such as running or hiking normally means your body has to work harder to keep up activity levels at a consistent pace that when running on a treadmill or using the stairs machine. This is because your body encounters a constantly changing environment and it has to adapt to all changes in your surroundings, ultimately achieving a more efficient workout and burning more calories
- Outdoor exercise can also help you financially as it is completely free of charge
- Connect with friends and family by doing outdoor activities and grow closer to your community by meeting people around you