How much time do you spend outside each day?
If you’re like the average American, chances are that it’s not much. According to a survey project conducted in late 2020, just under six out of every ten people (58.8%) reported spending less than an hour outside daily.
Now you might be thinking that those are skewed numbers because it was during COVID, but I’ll make four counterarguments against the skew.
First, while surveys are generally helpful for observing trends, they often have a somewhat large margin of error because they’re based on memory. More-scientific research has shown that memory isn’t particularly good when it comes to specific details about our actions, especially when those actions involve things we think we’re “supposed” to be doing because they’re healthy. And during COVID, being outside away from other people was generally considered a good thing. (Not to mention just getting away from the other people in your household so you wouldn’t accidentally strangle one of them for interrupting you for the 37th time during your Zoom meeting.)
Second, another study conducted in 2021 showed that the number of people who spent less than an hour per day outside went up to 67%.
Third, a meta-analysis (an analysis of numerous other studies, often considered the pinnacle of scientific observation) completed well before COVID in 2011 showed that the median time spent outdoors during the summer—a time of year when we generally want to be outside more often—was just over an hour (62 minutes) during the week and just over an hour and a half (98 minutes) on weekends.
And, finally, a study conducted in 2001 by the EPA (of all places) indicated that we spend only about 7.6% of our entire lives outdoors. If you do the math, that comes out to an average of 1.8 hours per day over a lifetime. But considering that we tend to spend more time outside on weekends, holidays, and summer months and when we’re children—although that trend seems to be diminishing too—it seems that regularly spending less than 60 minutes outside as an adult is neither far-fetched nor abnormal.
OK, OK. Enough with the counterarguments. Why does this matter anyway?
Because spending time outside, specifically in nature, has been shown to:
- reduce stress, heart rate, and blood pressure and increase immune function
- improve mood and lower anxiety
- keep our circadian rhythms in line, thereby positively affecting sleep
Who doesn’t want that!?!
So in an effort to improve your health in one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways possible, here’s your (non-medical) prescription to get outside a bit more. It’ll be good for a chuckle too, which is also a stress and blood pressure reducer.
Putting it into practice
Last week I discussed a bit about Goal Setting Theory. Hopefully you’ve set some goals for the year and perhaps even tweaked them based on that brief info. (You might also want to check out how WOOPing your goals can help in their achievement.)
Whether or not you’ve set other goals, consider adding this one to the list: Spend an extra 91 hours and 15 minutes outside this year.
That boils down to 15 minutes per day above and beyond whatever is typical for you—whether that’s already a lot or relatively little compared to the roughly one hour per day average.
It’s as easy as going for a walk after dinner. Rain, snow, or shine, give it a try. Even in the former two conditions, I promise that you won’t melt or actually freeze. 😉
Alternatively, you don’t have to walk. Stand outside your door and look at the birds or the stars instead.
Whatever you do, just get outside!