Most of my best-loved activities take place outside. Before the internet, I read numerous magazines and periodicals; many were about doing things outside — one of my favorite magazines used “Outside” as its name. I don’t spend much time reading magazines anymore, the world has been digitalized. Another thing that’s not getting near as much of people’s time in the digital age is going outside.
There’s been a major departure from where we spend our time over the last century or two. We’ve moved indoors, migrating from farms and fields to cubicles and multi-media screens. We used to bask in the natural sunlight and breathe clean, powerfully charged air. Now we bask in the glow of unnatural blue light emitted from our electronic devices while breathing stale, polluted indoor air.
“I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
People don’t even realize how little time they spend outside. One study surveyed a large group of people in 14 different countries and discovered a significant disparity between the time people think they spend outside vs. the reality of how much time they are outside. Whether they know it or not, the truth is that 90% of people spend less than 2 hours a day outside, some even less than that.
Our divorce from nature has caused numerous negative impacts on our health. We breathe about 4 thousand gallons of air daily, and most indoor air is at least five times as polluted as outdoor air. When we lived in Houston, I only remember opening a window after a hurricane when the power went out. Here in Emerald City, we open the windows at some point almost every day and let the fresh air wash through the cottage.
Natural environments have a tremendous supply of negative ions bustling around in the air, (NAIs). They’re nature’s mini mood enhancers, created when free electrons hook up with a nearby molecule, creating a negative charge. Pollution caused by industrialization and urbanization has been threatening physical and mental health for decades, so it is important to get out of the city, out of the house, out of the office, and into nature where negative air ions generated by sunlight, radiant energy, and plants create the highest quality air.
“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” ~ Gary Snyder
The highest concentrations of nature’s minuscule mood enhancers hang out at some of our favorite places to spend time. Forests, beaches, and waterfalls are some of the best spots, but a good rainstorm or creeks and rivers where water slams into a hard surface, breaking electrons free to forge a new relationship with a friendly molecule is a likely spot for inhaling some healthy negative air ions. Numerous studies and clinical research have shown that NAIs have many positive benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, improving your immune system, and enhancing metabolism.
Exposure to NAIs benefits your health; improving amino acid metabolism, and reducing inflammation and oxidation. It promotes energy production and makes you feel better. Nature’s mini mood enhancers don’t live in your house, they live “Out There.” So it makes sense to spend as much time as possible outside, soaking up the sunshine and inhaling nature’s mini mood enhancers. You might as well do it on a bicycle, and double your pleasure!