2537: Four Simple Living Benefits From Spending A Little More Time Outdoors by Robin Shliakhau with Becoming Minimalist

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[00:00:59] This is Optimal Health Daily, episode 2537.

[00:01:03] Four simple living benefits from spending a little more time outdoors by Robin Schlocka

[00:01:08] with becomingminimalist.com and I'm Dr. Neal, your host and narrator.

[00:01:13] Welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or OHD where I act as your narrator of popular

[00:01:18] health and fitness blogs and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:22] Now let me keep this intro nice and short so let's get right to today's article and

[00:01:26] start optimizing your life.

[00:01:33] Four simple living benefits from spending a little more time outdoors by Robin Schlocka

[00:01:38] with becomingminimalist.com.

[00:01:41] Quote, I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately to front only the

[00:01:47] essential facts of life and to see if I could not learn what it had to teach and

[00:01:52] not when I came to die discover that I had not lived.

[00:01:56] Henry David Thoreau, when you're out in the wild and daylight is fading, you get

[00:02:01] stuff done fast.

[00:02:04] You strip down your routines to the bare necessities and you figure out

[00:02:07] what's really important.

[00:02:09] You might find yourself rethinking how you do things.

[00:02:12] What must be done before dark?

[00:02:14] What can wait?

[00:02:15] What's pointless?

[00:02:17] What's weighing us down?

[00:02:19] What can we live without?

[00:02:21] This was my reality when my family and our friends, nine of us all together,

[00:02:26] went on a week-long camping trip.

[00:02:28] During our pre-trip planning, we chose a location that would have little to no

[00:02:32] connectivity.

[00:02:33] We would also be without electricity and water at our campsite,

[00:02:36] though there was water nearby.

[00:02:38] For my family, this was the most off the grid we had been.

[00:02:43] We were thrilled and a little nervous.

[00:02:46] When our journey toward a simpler way of life began four years ago,

[00:02:50] one of the benefits we were looking forward to was more time to spend

[00:02:54] outdoors.

[00:02:56] My partner and I are both nature lovers, but marriage and children and

[00:03:00] careers and the typical American life seemed to slowly eat away at our

[00:03:05] time spent outside.

[00:03:07] When our first child came along, we bought a backpack carrier thinking

[00:03:11] that purchase would be the key to us getting back into the woods more.

[00:03:14] But as with all buying promises, it failed to deliver as we would

[00:03:19] dust it off only about once a year.

[00:03:21] As we realized that our lives were cluttered both physically with our

[00:03:25] possessions and time-wise in all the commitments and activities we had,

[00:03:30] we began to make changes.

[00:03:32] We purged our home of the obvious and with that momentum,

[00:03:36] we gave it another sweep, discarding even more items first deemed necessary.

[00:03:41] We also began saying something we rarely said, no.

[00:03:45] We noticed that every time we said yes to something, we were saying no to our

[00:03:50] family going hiking or pursuing other things that were more important to us.

[00:03:55] As clutter disappeared, we found freedom, time and energy to do more of what we

[00:04:00] love.

[00:04:02] We started hiking more and added weekend and week-long camping trips.

[00:04:06] In doing so, we realized benefits to being outdoors that go along with our

[00:04:10] desire to live simply.

[00:04:12] Physical health.

[00:04:14] The physical health benefits from being outside may be pretty obvious at

[00:04:18] first, but there are more than I realized.

[00:04:21] Studies have shown that besides the vitamin D,

[00:04:24] being outside can boost immunity, reduce inflammation, and

[00:04:28] even increase recovery and healing times.

[00:04:31] Activity outdoors can also have a higher fitness benefit than exercises done

[00:04:36] indoors.

[00:04:38] Mental health.

[00:04:40] A walk in the woods or even just a quick trip to a park can help lessen

[00:04:44] depression and anxiety, reduce stress, improve short-term memory,

[00:04:49] and reduce mental fatigue.

[00:04:51] Any time I need a boost in my mood, spending even five minutes in

[00:04:55] the sunshine helps me.

[00:04:56] Imagine the benefits we receive from spending an entire day or

[00:05:00] even more outdoors.

[00:05:02] Inspiration.

[00:05:04] As I've made it a priority to be outdoors, I find myself returning from

[00:05:08] outings inspired and excited about life.

[00:05:11] It's almost like there's an innate knowledge of what's important and

[00:05:14] essential that awakens when you're outside.

[00:05:17] Thoreau said, quote, I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than

[00:05:22] the trees, end quote.

[00:05:25] Many people claim that their best ideas come to them in the shower.

[00:05:28] I have had the same thing happen when I'm in nature.

[00:05:31] My creativity, confidence and focus all increase after a hike or weekend spent

[00:05:38] camping.

[00:05:39] Good for our kids.

[00:05:41] In between my generation and the generation of my children, there has

[00:05:45] been an extreme decrease in the amount of time kids spend outdoors.

[00:05:50] In his book, How to Raise a Wild Child, Dr.

[00:05:53] Scott Sampson cites several reasons that kids are spending more time indoors

[00:05:57] than ever before and shares shocking statistics of how little time kids get

[00:06:02] out versus hours of screen time each day.

[00:06:06] This has given rise to many negative consequences, such as poor physical

[00:06:10] and mental health.

[00:06:11] But as mentioned previously, all the benefits we as adults can reap from

[00:06:15] the time spent outdoors, it's even better for our kids.

[00:06:19] It's clear that time in nature is good for us and our kids.

[00:06:23] Simplicity has created more time for us to be outdoors.

[00:06:27] Interestingly, that time outdoors has also given a boost to my commitment

[00:06:32] to live more simply.

[00:06:34] Our weak camping forced me to reevaluate some of our daily habits and rituals.

[00:06:39] We had to strip them down to the essentials in order to beat the darkness

[00:06:43] or make the most of our time.

[00:06:45] Why would I add to them when at home?

[00:06:48] Are the extra things I do or have at home really adding value to our day

[00:06:52] or to our lives?

[00:06:54] But it's not just maximizing my time, but instead realizing that the resources

[00:06:59] our earth gives us are limited and sometimes fragile.

[00:07:02] The excess and pace of modern life puts a strain on the environment

[00:07:06] and on our lives that we cannot fully comprehend.

[00:07:10] So let's make time to get outside a little more and discover all the

[00:07:13] benefits nature has to offer.

[00:07:16] You just listened to the post titled,

[00:07:21] Four Simple Living Benefits from Spending a Little More Time Outdoors

[00:07:25] by Robin Schlocka with becomingminimalist.com

[00:07:29] and I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:08:44] Dr. Neal here for my commentary.

[00:08:46] Now, I've openly admitted on this podcast many times before

[00:08:50] that I'm not the type of person who will just go out for a leisurely stroll outside.

[00:08:55] Unless there are skis strapped to my feet or have my running shoes on,

[00:08:59] I'm not usually the type to just head outdoors and enjoy the fresh air.

[00:09:03] The only time I go camping is if I can go glamping.

[00:09:06] I'm definitely high maintenance when it comes to that stuff.

[00:09:09] Now, even though I am aware of the benefits of being outdoors

[00:09:12] and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of nature,

[00:09:16] I still find it difficult to find the motivation to do this.

[00:09:20] But to be honest with you, this is something that I'm working on changing

[00:09:24] because I know for me, if I force myself to go outside,

[00:09:28] it's going to give me that time for just being still,

[00:09:33] allowing my mind and my body to just be in the moment,

[00:09:37] which is something that I really don't practice all that often.

[00:09:41] So today's author Robin may have just convinced me to start practicing this.

[00:09:46] Alright, that'll do it for another edition of Optimal Health Daily.

[00:09:50] Thank you so much for listening.

[00:09:51] Thank you for sharing this show with someone.

[00:09:53] That's one of the best ways to keep all of our shows going.

[00:09:56] And I'll see you back here tomorrow where your Optimal Life awaits.