Why You Should Spend More Time Outdoors

August 15, 2022 4 min read

A woman holding a pen in her mouth while sitting in a hammock on the beach.

How Sun Exposure Will Benefit Your Health

If the Covid-19 pandemic has done us any favours, it's that more people are spending time outside than ever before. Believe it or not, 37% more Canadians are actively spending more time outside than they were before the pandemic. Unfortunately, these numbers still fall quite short of where they should be!

Get to the point - what does the sun help with, and why should I care?

We're glad you asked. Let's talk about the benefits of sun exposure and how to spend more time outside without making any sacrifices!

The Benefits Of Sun Exposure

If you don't already know, sun exposure is one of the key components in vitamin D production within our bodies. For this reason and more, getting outside and into the sun has many notable effects on your physical and mental health. While the benefits of sun exposure go on and on, here are just a few examples!

Creates Melatonin

Melatonin is a chemical compound that our bodies naturally produce, which aids in the regulation of our sleeping patterns. This is essential for proper sleep, and sun exposure can help boost melatonin production.

If you don't know the importance of quality sleep, it's when our brains and bodies carry out some of their most vital functions. Lack of quality sleep can affect our moods in the short term, as well as our health and longevity in the long term.

Promotes Bone Growth

Our bones are constantly degrading, whether we realize it or not. While that isn't a problem when our bones regenerate appropriately, this cycle can be easily disrupted. However, sun exposure and increased vitamin D levels can help facilitate and improve bone growth.

This is because vitamin D helps our bodies absorb calcium and phosphorous, which are essential for bone growth and overall health. As we age, we face many risks for bone density and bone-related diseases. Keeping our bones healthy over time is essential for quality of life later on.

Helps Strengthen Your Immune System

Vitamin D and sun exposure can also help with disease prevention by strengthening your immune system. Especially with the ongoing threat of pandemics popping up everywhere, maintaining a healthy immune system is vital.

Also, vitamin D is very difficult to obtain from food. Only small amounts come from certain foods like cod liver, certain fish, and fortified foods or beverages. Your body isn't meant to absorb the majority of its vitamin D from food, and it can't produce it on its own.

For that reason, sun exposure is essential for immune system health, as it acts as our body's primary source of vitamin D. Especially in a country like Canada, it's important to spend more time outside while we can, as we tend to have short days in the winter.

Lowers Blood Pressure

Believe it or not, nearly 1 in 4 adults in Canada suffers from high blood pressure. If you have a history of hypertension in your family, it's very important to take preventative measures from an early age. Fortunately, many of those measures are free, including sun exposure.

This is because UV light helps encourage the production of nitric oxide, which is essential for lowering and regulating both diastolic and systolic blood pressure.

Better Brain Performance

One of the most important benefits of sunlight is increasing our cognitive performance. That's right. The vitamins from the sun can help balance our neurotransmitters, hormones, and endorphins.

As a result, this can help improve our overall brain health, which will have positive effects throughout our daily lives. This leads to naturally-enhanced focus and overall cognitive abilities.

Helps Fight Depression

Mental health is arguably the most important part of healthy living. Your brain affects everything in your body, so taking care of your mental health should be a top priority.

Time and time again, studies show the benefits of sun exposure for our mental health and wellbeing. This is because sun exposure helps increase the brain's production of serotonin, an important neurotransmitter associated with feelings of calm and happiness. If you want to regulate your brain chemistry and keep yourself happy, there are some simple ways to do that!

Sun Exposure + Hammocks = Happiness?

We've deduced that getting outside can help improve your overall happiness, health, and wellbeing. Not much is secret about that.

Going outside doesn't have to mean hiking a mountain every day or doing anything too exerting. Taking the time to get outside, especially during the summer months, doesn't have to come with any sacrifices or lifestyle changes!

While exercise is important, it's beneficial to spend more of your relaxation time outdoors. One of the best ways to do that is lying in a hammock!

Swinging around in a cozy hammock is an easy way to reap some of the rewards of the great outdoors. Read a book, watch videos on your phone, or talk to friends while enjoying the comfort of your home from a new perspective. Just find the right hammock for your needs and enjoy!

The Takeaway

Now that you know the benefits of sun exposure and vitamin D, you can see why getting outside is so important. You don't have to make any huge commitments to receive these benefits, you just need to go outside! So many of us live our lives inside, but you can easily make the effort to spend more time outdoors with the right equipment!

Stay up to date with our latest outdoor tips, and don't hesitate to contact us with any questions!