Wellfie Wednesday Tip #149: Get Outdoors for Your Health!

Happy Wellfie Wednesday! Welcome back!

This week we want to share some recent data that supports spending time outdoors. A study out of England found that spending at least 120 minutes per week in natural environments was associated with better health and well-being. And that threshold of 120 minutes came from self reported health status and perceived well-being. Though that does create some limitations when it comes to research, a perception of being healthier goes a long way, especially acting as an internal motivator to continue healthy behaviors.

But it makes sense, spending time outdoors can be associated with increased physical activity, whether walks, runs, biking, hiking, or having fun, like spending time on the beach or tending to a garden. So I think a lot of that natural environment exposure does come with increased movement, which as we know is known to have tremendous health benefits.

Though a bit of caution, some of us have been experiencing very HIGH temperatures that may make it unbearable to be outdoors. So if you are out in those temperatures, be sure to stay hydrated! And if you have a choice when to spend your time in nature, shoot for early morning or late afternoon.

Take advantage of Mother Nature as much as you can! Thank you for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures this week that demonstrate your active patriotism and tag the WW crew members in your post (@TheFuelPhysio, @Eric_in_AmERICa, @AaronPerezPT, @DianaKlatt) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

-WW Crew

Source:

White MP, Alcock I, Grellier J, Wheeler BW, Hartig T, Warber SL, Bone A, Depledge MH, Fleming LE. Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific reports. 2019 Jun 13;9(1):7730.