Within the era of technology and advancements, maintaining mental health could be harder than physical. Daily routine of work that is always done over and over again would result in a mountain of stress.
If not cured immediately, it could end up in other serious mental problems. Solving mental health problems is surely not the same as physical.
Even though still need other medicines, there are several ways, the simplest methods for maintaining your mental health like the mental health benefits of gardening. An activity that looks as simple as gardening could help a suffering soul, more than they could expect.
Tons of activities can be done, all you need to do is find the best one for you. For example, if you love the world of art, you can have some mental health benefits of coloring.
If you probably have a hobby in games, then play some. As long as they can make you a happier person, it’s more than good.
There’s another simple method that could be done by a person that is suffering from stress. Being outdoors. Yes, just simply being exposed to the outside worlds. Sometimes, all you need to do is to look further and wider, since the actual world is not only limited within our house, or even your room.
Being outdoors may give many benefits that are useful for maintaining a stable mental health. It’s pretty easy to do as well, making it one of the effective ways to maintain your sanity. However, as from previously mentioned benefit, here’s the list of mental health benefits of being outdoors.
Mental Health Benefits of Being Outdoors
Being indoor at all times due to some reasons may result in a greater stress. That’s why, going out for a while is always recommended because of the benefits for your mental health, like:
1. Reduces Stress
Research has shown that being on the outside activates the calming part of the nervous system. You can often feel this effect with the first breath you take outside. You will feel things like relaxed shoulders, clear thoughts, and everything seems to be lighter.
Actionable step if you are stuck with a difficult emotion is just to take a few minutes outside. Simply being outside, and starting to walk and wander alone. Focus on your senses or on an activity, rather than trying to change your mood, and see what happens.
2. Connect with Other People
Going outside and talking to some people may give the health benefits of having an active social interaction. It often opens the door for positive social interactions, such as with your neighbor or friends maybe. This can give you a boost to your mood.
There are also different qualities of connection with the people you live with when you are outdoors, especially when you are walking side by side. Simple actions like this can create a sense of community.
Walking together also tends to change the quality of the conversation, compared to sitting together inside. That’s the benefit of going out.
Do it at least to your yard to see the beauty of nature. Being outside is always great especially during the morning and evening where the wind breezes smoothly.
3. Broadened Perspective
Staying indoors can put us in a small frame of mind. Like a goldfish that grows to the size of its container, our imagination can be limited by the size of the room and the height of the ceiling.
It’s easy to focus narrowly on the problem we imagine, like seeing it through a telescope, because we ignore everything else. Stepping out broadens our view.
As if reminded that the problem that we think is reality, is only a small thing compared to the vastness of the universe. We regain the correct scope and perspective.
What you can do is get out and look at the sky. Watch what happened to the sky at any given time. See colors, lights, clouds or stars. Remember that life will go on almost the same as with or without you.
4. Make Yourself Healthier
Healthy mind comes after a healthy body. Being inside all the time, we can’t get the right amount of oxygen needed, especially if you live in a very tight room. Just simply out of the house, for a running or jogging exercise maybe could greatly help you to get a fresh air for your mind.
So before having the benefits of wearing Surya Locket or other “curing devices”’, it’s always advised to do the simple natural activities first. While going out in the morning, do a light exercise to maintain your body’s condition. Just do it regularly every Sunday, and make it a weekly routine.
5. Improve Cognitive Abilities
In short, spending more time outdoors will make you smarter. A study in Finland showed that running and playing in the beautiful outdoors can improve academic achievement in school-age children.
It’s possibly because of the good condition of nature that supports a healthier mind. So other than benefits of Naukasana, simply being outside and exposed to nature can be your natural brain refresher.
6. Maintaining Eyes Condition
Refractive eye disorders such as myopia or nearsightedness are generally caused by a lack of sun exposure. In fact, exposure to natural light early in life can protect children from developing myopia. Therefore, letting kids play outdoors is better than just indoors and staring at gadgets.
Not only good for kids, being outside and exposed to sunlight is also good for adults, who are also exposed to bluelight all the time. Seeing green natural things like leaves or flowers could also become a natural way to refresh your eyes.