Get Outside!
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, one finds it attached to the rest of the world” -John Muir
Allow me to let you in on a little secret… the body we use to sail through this life may appear separate from the nature that surrounds us, but we humans are intimately connected, part of, and dependent upon the nature that surrounds us. Just like in nature, one tug within our internal biology affects the rest of our being. Traditional Chinese Medicine acknowledges this fact. The theories used to diagnose and treat in Chinese Medicine are entwined with the laws of the natural world.
Our country is spending more and more time indoors and many people do not have easy access to open spaces. But let’s not forget that we are the great-great-great-great grandchildren of a people that maintained a very close relationship with the land and the seasons in which they lived. Today, our physiology directly reflects this genetic history. There have been numerous studies looking at our health in relation to nature. Here are a few examples of how our happiness and health are closely related to the time we spend outdoors:
1. We revolve around the sun. The UV light emitted by the sun has been condemned for being the cause of skin cancer, and as a result many of us regularly use the highest SPF sunscreen available on the market. (side note: there is no significant difference in the level of protection in the SPFs above 30) This is only one side of the story. The UV light emitted by the sun also allows our skin to produce Vitamin D. Vitamin D has a crucial role in the forming and strengthening of our bones and muscles, in preventing serious chronic disease, in the health of our heart and circulation, immune system, hormones, and in uplifting and normalizing our mood.
2. Tangled up in green. Being out in the green of the trees, flowers, and grasses has been clinically proven to improve our mood, give us better focus, and alleviate symptoms associated with attention-deficit disorder. Although getting out to open spaces is ideal, these studies showed that even in urban environments, being around those isolated pockets of green grass and trees will lead to significant changes in mood and focus.
3. Garden bed bugs are not so bad. The microscopic bugs in soil help to create a healthy environment in our “forgotten organ”- the gut microbiome. The beneficial bacteria in our intestines affect our mood and cognitive faculty, give us protection against certain chronic diseases and strengthen and organize our immune system. This is one reason why organically grown food is better for us- it still harbors those microbes that were fostered through building healthy soil and other natural farming methods. The complex relationship between the bacteria that live in our gut and our overall health have only seen a burst in attention within the last handful of years, so there is still much, much more to discover.
4. We are what we breathe. Our propensity towards heart disease and stroke, lung cancer, allergies, common colds, respiratory infection and asthma are directly related to the quality of air we breathe. Living in a densely populated city inevitably leads to higher levels of air pollution and subsequently higher risk for the diseases mentioned above. Getting out to fresh air in open spaces is not only good for our mood and focus, but also for the longevity of our lungs and heart.
To sum up: spend more time outside, give yourself time to explore open spaces, and put your bare feet and hands in the dirt. Your body will thank you for it.
