12 Benefits of Being in Nature and the Outdoors

A friend recently shared with me (during a run in the woods!) that there are so many benefits to being outdoors. It's really great for our mental and physical health, and this naturally is of great benefit to the development of children as well.

Just as I set out to look into the research, I hit gold immediately, as Business Insider had a wonderful article on the topic, including the journal citations (and links to FULL studies!) for each of the various benefits!

I made this visual from Friedman and Loria's list :)

I definitely recommend you read through this awesome article written by Lauren Friedman and Kevin Loria: Eleven Scientific Reasons You Should Be Spending More Time Outside (article cites various references for each of the reasons)

Here's the list in no particular order:

1. Sharper thinking and creativity
2. Stress relief
3. Reduced inflammation
4. Restored mental energy
5. Immune system boost
6. Better vision
7. Improved mental health
8. Improved concentration
9. Improved short-term memory
10. Reduced risk of early death
11. possible anti-cancer effects

Here is a PDF of the article. 

I can't discuss benefits of being outside without giving a shout out to Vitamin D! Vitamin D is definitely a reason to spend time outside!

And for fun, a few pics out in nature!

Finally, in case you are curious what fueled me through this post...it was brownies, 100% Healthy Fudgy Brownies!

Healthy Fudgy Brownies