Get Out
We humans spend most of our time indoors, under artificial lighting and most of that lighting is highly efficient fluorescent tubes and LED bulbs. But, efficient hardly ever means better.
We can’t sense it, but the flicker from CFL and LED lights can lead to eye strain, headaches, stress, poor concentration, and fatigue. In fact, according to an article from the National Library of Medicine, a 2010 study found that exposure to fluorescent lighting causes a heightened central nervous system arousal. Not good.
LED bulbs may be even more irritating to the eyes and brain, whereas although not detectable, LEDs dim by 100% with each flicker, while fluorescents dim about 35%.
Beyond that, there’s artificially conditioned air, electronic white noise, wifi signals, computer screens, and lots of sitting. First-graders, high school students, college students, and most adults all the way through retirement age.
So, what do we do when we’ve spent most of our day in this environment? We go to the gym where there’s artificial fluorescent lighting, reconditioned air, electronic white noise, wifi signals, and even more screens to stare at. And, unless we’re on a treadmill, we’re probably sitting on some machine.
Hmm … we need a better place to decompress and recharge, and it’s outside. In Florida? Yes, even in Florida where we love our air-conditioning.
Just being in a natural environment has been shown to decrease tension, blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. Natural sunlight elevates mood, happiness, positivity, and mental health. Fresh air raises serotonin levels, which helps regulate natural sleep cycles, and it’s an anti-depressant.
And that’s just being outdoors but, add exercise and movement and we’re positively stimulating the cerebellum. This part of the brain that processes movement is also the exact same part of the brain responsible for learning. Movement makes us smarter.
So many studies have shown aerobic exercise improves many aspects of cognitive function, such as memory, decision-making, problem solving and attention.
Resistance training has been shown to improve “executive function,” such as the ability to selectively pay attention to your professor instead of our iPhone and the ability to think before we act – inhibitory control – cognitive flexibility, and the capacity to hold information in our mind and manipulate it.
You see where this is going: Outdoor fitness helps us to decompress, relax, improve sleep, fight depression and anxiety, while elevating mood, positivity, and overall mental health. It improves brain function, neuroplasticity, memory, problem solving, attention and cognitive flexibility.
Rick Ruben said, “a painting is just a painting until we put a frame around it and hang it on the wall”. Then, it becomes art. It attracts our attention, draws us in, and becomes more valuable.
When we create an outdoor fitness space with the right equipment, that space becomes more valuable in ways that are immeasurable to all the human benefits it provides.
Let’s get outside.