How Going Outside Can Benefit Your Health

Julian Smith · Right as Rain · July 18, 2019

Featuring Josh Lawler, director of Nature and Health, and Dr. Pooja Tandon, Nature and Health researcher

Research shows we’re spending more and more time cooped up indoors. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans spend an average of 87% of their time inside buildings.

The risks aren’t limited to the effects of a sedentary lifestyle: People indoors are exposed to levels of pollutants, like cleaning products and paint, that are 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors.

Time spent in nature, on the other hand, offers a long catalog of positive effects that can be surprising. According to one study, outdoor time can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and preterm birth.

“We suspect that one of the routes for the physical benefits is through decreased stress and anxiety,” Lawler says.