As the weather gets warmer, at least here in the northern hemisphere, the longer daylight hours are offering us more and more time to spend outdoors. At the same time, our increasingly hotter summers may leave some of us running for indoor, air-conditioned spaces. We all know it’s a good idea to get up off the couch for a little while but what does a little fresh air actually do for us? How much time should we be spending outdoors?
Today’s kids spend half the time playing outside compared to their parents. That’s a current average outdoor time of only four hours per week. For older children, these numbers only decrease. A recent study from the Seattle Children’s Research Institute showed that kids ages 10 to 16 spend less than 13 minutes a day on activities outside compared to over 10 waking hours a day spent doing sedentary activities.
The Health Benefits of the Outdoors
So why does this matter? More time outside as a child can help improve your immune system and reduce your likelihood of developing allergies. The great outdoors can also improve focus in young kids: one study found that children with ADHD were better able to focus after even 20 minutes of walking through a park. The varied stimuli and unpredictable nature of the outdoors can help children improve their motor skills and spatial awareness.
Studies have shown the benefits of outdoor play extend to children as young as three months old. Playing outside contributes to sensory as well as physical development as the scenery is not always the same as it tends to be indoors.
But the benefits of the outdoors are not just for kids! If we’re doing things outside, we are more likely being active, so we’ll get more exercise which can ultimately make us happier. (Thank you, endorphins.) And just as with our younger versions, skin exposure to sunlight activates vitamin D which has been linked to lower risks of osteoporosis, cancer, heart attacks, and even depression. In a study published by Harvard Health, patients recovering from spinal surgery even healed faster when they spent more time outside because they had less pain and stress.
Spending more time outside may also help improve short-term memory, something we could all probably use help with as we get older. Two groups of students from the University of Michigan were studied in an experiment designed to test the influence of being out in nature on memory. The students were given a memory test, then sent for a walk before repeating the test again. One group of students, those sent for a walk through an open-air garden, showed a 20% improvement in their results on the memory test after the time spent outdoors. The other group, those sent for a walk down a busy city street, showed no improvement.
What Keeps Us From Playing Outdoors?
When it comes to our children, parenting styles have changed significantly in the past few decades. We are less likely to send our kids outside to play unsupervised due to perceived risks. Parents often cite fear as the main reason their kids don’t see more time outside. With growing pressure in cities to make the valuable space as usable as possible, we also see apartment complexes going up instead of playgrounds and parks. Thus finding space to just be outside is a luxury that not everyone has access to.
But the biggest sink on our outdoor time, no matter how old we are, appears to be the time we spend in front of a screen instead. The average child today spends 6.5 hours a day in front of a screen. That number was only three hours in 1995. Our screens provide us with unlimited entertainment which makes us less likely to seek fun and adventure outdoors.
Of course, indoor activities do provide their own benefits as well. For example, reading can help improve memory in children and adults, as well as improve attention span and imagination in young kids. The key, as is often the case when it comes to our health, is finding the right balance.
So how much time should we be spending outdoors? The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Control in the United States both recommend at least an hour of free play a day. Some pediatric occupational therapists recommend as many as three hours outside per day, a far cry from the 20-30 minute recess periods allowed in most public school systems. If three hours, or even an hour, seems daunting, start by trying to increase your outdoor time a little bit each day. But don’t forget to stay hydrated and to put on some sunscreen.
Until next time, this is Sabrina Stierwalt with Everyday Einstein’s Quick and Dirty Tips for helping you make sense of science. You can become a fan of Everyday Einstein on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, where I’m @QDTeinstein. If you have a question that you’d like to see on a future episode, send me an email at everydayeinstein@quickanddirtytips.com.
Image courtesy of shutterstock.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar