Here in the middle part of the year, many people are participating in a variety of outdoor activities. Late spring and early summer offer all sorts of options, and most people—perhaps especially those who experience particularly cold winters—are eager to spend time outside enjoying the sunshine.
That isn’t the ideal way for everyone to spend time, of course. Some people are plenty happy indoors, no matter the season. Maybe they sunburn easily, or they find bugs particularly annoying, or they don’t like to sweat. Whatever the reason, plenty of folks find the indoors preferable to the outdoors.
No matter which camp you fall into—the outdoor lovers or the outdoor avoiders—we want to shine some sunlight on an important truth: Spending time outdoors can be good for your mental health.
Let’s take a look at why that is—and how you can take advantage of the benefits available in the outdoors.
Sunlight is Good for You
Many folks quite rightly worry about spending too much time in the sun. Sunburns can be uncomfortable—even dangerous—and can have serious consequences down the road. But it is also appropriate to worry about spending too little time in the sun.
That is because sunlight offers some key benefits that support your mental health. Not the least of these benefits is the fact that sunlight can unlock serotonin in your body. Serotonin levels can have a significant impact on your overall mood, and sunlight helps ensure that you have enough to help you feel calmer and happier.
Sunlight is also an excellent source of vitamin D, which is important to your overall health and is hard to come by in food. Vitamin D supports calcium absorption, boosts your immune system, and keeps brain and muscle cells in working order. Good physical health is directly related to good mental health, so getting your vitamin D is good for both the body and the brain.
And speaking of good physical health, let’s talk about exercise.
Exercise is Good for You
Sure, you can exercise indoors. But exercising outdoors opens up a world of options that can be fun and engaging. For example, it is hard to take a hike in your house or at the gym. But you can certainly put one foot in front of the other out in nature, boosting your physical and mental wellbeing as you enjoy the world around you.
Tending a garden is also an excellent source of exercise and can be a great opportunity to grow healthy food or to use your creativity to create a beautiful space.
Those are just some of many, many options for getting your exercise outdoors—something you can do on your own or with friends and family. And that brings us to our next point.
Social Connections are Good for You
The great outdoors offers great opportunities to connect with other people—and those positive connections are good for your mental health.
Whether it is a backyard barbeque, a friendly game of tennis or pickleball, an evening around a campfire, or something else entirely, sharing time with others outdoors is a wonderful activity for your mental health this time of year.
And if big gatherings are not for you, that is perfectly okay. Taking a walk with a close friend might be the perfect way for a more introverted individual to spend time outside while still forging and maintaining strong relationships.
Enjoying What Your Community Has to Offer is Good for You
Does your community have a municipal band or a free concert series in a local park? Are there public gardens or parks to explore? What about local arts and music festivals? Is there a baseball team you can root for from the stands?
There is a good chance these sorts of amenities can be found in your town—or at least not too far away. When you make a point to take advantage of all that is going on outdoors in your community, you will likely be consistently delighted—and you will get many of the benefits we have outlined above. After all, you will get some sunlight, get some exercise, and spend time with the people you enjoy being around. And often these summertime activities are free or quite inexpensive.
Here is Some Inside Info: We Can Help
We have been talking about the wonderful benefits of getting outside, but we also want to share some inside information that might help you if you are struggling with depression, anxiety, an issue grounded in trauma, or another mental health disorder.
At Peak View Behavioral Health—located in Colorado Springs, Colorado—we help individuals improve their mental well-being and maintain those improvements over time. We are committed to personalized treatment plans grounded in evidence-based practices as well as our expertise, experience, and empathy. Whether you pursue inpatient, outpatient, or virtual care options, we can work with you as you reclaim your life from a mental health disorder.
