Earth Day + Health Benefits of Getting Outside in Nature!

It’s Earth Day this Sunday!

On Earth Day, National Parks are free to enter, and the day serves as a yearly reminder to get outside and enjoy all that Mother Nature has to offer. I recommend taking this weekend to focus on connecting with others around you and the moment you’re in, and the best way to do that is a sort of “social detox”… cleanse your mind by turning off the phone and taking a break from social media, TV, and artificial blue light. Your mind and body will thank you for it!

It’s been a long winter this year and it seems like Spring is exceptionally colder this year with most days not even feeling like Spring yet. This weekend looks like it’s going to be Sunny and 60’s (at least here in PA) so hopefully wherever you are it’s going to be nice enough to get outside, because we ALL spend too much time indoors!

DID YOU KNOW?

Just taking a ten-minute walk outside can boost endorphins, increase mindfulness, decrease stress, improve mental clarity and brain function, promote heart health, and improve gait and balance?

Now you know:) Get outside!

Before you go…here are a few more health benefits to being outside:

1. Vitamin D!! When you are outside in the sunshine your body soaks up that wonderful Vitamin D. Epidemiologic studies are suggesting it may have protective effects against everything from osteoporosis to cancer to depression to heart attacks and stroke. Even by conventional standards, many Americans don’t have enough vitamin D circulating in their bodies. The good news is that you’ll make all the vitamin D you need if you get outside a few times a week during these warmer days and expose your arms and legs for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Mood Boost!! Light tends to elevate people’s mood, and unless you live in a glass house or are using a light box to treat SAD (seasonal affective disorder), there’s usually more light available outside than in. Physical activity has been shown to relax and cheer people up which might also mean more smiles and laughter in your day. Researchers at the University of Essex in England are advancing the notion that exercising in the presence of nature has added benefit, particularly for mental health. Their investigations into “green exercise,” as they are calling it, dovetails with research showing benefits from living in proximity to green, open spaces.
3. Improved Concentration!! Richard Louv coined the term “nature-deficit disorder” in his 2008 book Last Child in the Woods. It’s a play on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Researchers have, in fact, reported that children with ADHD seem to focus better after being outdoors. A study published in 2008 found that children with ADHD scored higher on a test of concentration after a walk through a park than after a walk through a residential neighborhood or downtown area. Other ADHD studies have also suggested that outdoor exercise could have positive effects on the condition.
4. Faster Recovery & Healing!! University of Pittsburgh researchers reported in 2005 that spinal surgery patients experienced less pain and stress and took fewer pain medications during their recoveries if they were exposed to natural light.

So, stop reading this 😉 … leave your phone inside, and go outside for a walk in the park, a hike in a national park, or just play outside in the grass (preferably in your bare feet!)

Stay Healthy my Friends & Get Outside!

XO,

Carrie A Groff

P.S. I love doing yoga outdoors but if you aren’t sure where to start, Yogi Approved is offering 30 days free when you purchase any yoga (or pilates) products from ProSource Fit! Use my code: FIT&HEALTHY15 to get 15% off your purchase too! Take your yoga classes outside for more benefit!

P.S.S. Another Earth Day special: All year long, for EVERY skincare set sold, FRÉ @freskincare plants an Argan Tree 🌱 of Life in Morocco 🇲🇦 to help fight deforestation and empower women’s communities who harvest the Argan oil.
To make an even stronger impact on Earth 🌏 Day, Fré will not only plant a tree 🌳 in Morocco, but also in America 🇺🇸 with the @arbordayfoundation . AND if as a community the #frewomen reach 500 trees, FRÉ will DOUBLE its commitment to plant 1K trees!! 🌳
To further make it impossible not to join the #plant1ktrees movement, enjoy 25% OFF discount on the 123FRE set in the next 48 hours! Head over to freskincare.com  and use my code: CARRIEG to help plant 1,000 trees and to help your skin! You can read more about this special in my Instagram Post.

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