The glorious outside: fresh air, and sunlight; either sitting and admiring a gorgeous view or getting your heart rate up and having a long trek. Whether it is the seaside, a hilltop or an ancient woodland most of us instinctively know that time spent outside leaves us feeling better and with more energy.

When time is precious and there feels like there is a lot on the to-do-list, it is often one of the things that takes a back seat… and when the weather isn’t as warm and it is colder and darker it can feel like too much effort to get dressed up and head outside.

But there are good reasons why time spent outside is a really wonderful addition to looking after your physical and mental wellness.

Studies have shown that walking in the woods can improve blood pressure, boost mental health, and decrease even decrease cancer risk.

Here are three reasons why you should put on the duffel coat, hat, scarves, gloves, or suncream and head outside.

Boost your creativity and focus.

It is estimated that, in this digital age, we are bombarded with 34 GB of information a day and with multiple interruptions, this means our brains are having to almost constantly context switch, it is no wonder concentration spans have got shorter.

Studies have shown that simply walking alone fires up areas of your brain always thought to be for creativity and innovation. And the effect of this when you walk in the outside is even more pronounced. It also noticeably improves your focus, concentration and problem-solving skills.

Improve your mood, self-esteem, and get a better workout.

Green exercise, which is exercise in the presence of nature, has unique benefits above and beyond indoor exercise. A meta-analysis of 10 separate studies found that even five minutes exercising in nature had significant improvement in mood and self-esteem for the people that took part. That’s just five minutes.

There’s nothing more exciting than the beach when it is windy and relaxing walking by a river and you will be blowing more than just the cobwebs away.

Healing potential. So, that sounds a bit crazy but it’s an important one.

Being outside has actually been proven to increase the rate and speed that people recover from illness and operations. Studies have shown exposure to 46% more daylight lead to people needing 22% less pain medication.

Being outdoors, in sunlight, is the natural way to boost your body’s vitamin D, this is important for a healthy immune system, 5 – 10 mins 2-3 times per week is enough in the summer and longer in the winter when the sun’s rays are weaker.

According to research published in Biopsychosocial Medicine, older adults who spent more time outdoors had less pain, slept better, and were able to carry on doing the things that they wanted to do for way longer. And the younger they started this, the greater the benefits were, so it’s a good idea for all of us to start now.

It sounds like such a ridiculously simple thing to do a few generations back we would have naturally spent an awful lot more time outside. Now it’s something that we really have to draw our attention to and plan into our week.

We hope all of that has convinced you enough to:

Go for a walk in the woods, head down to the beach. Kick some golden leaves, splash in the puddles, maybe even have a snowball fight. Go outside for a walk in your lunch break or even have an extra walk on the school run.

Get a basket, load a picnic, and take it outside. This could be breakfast. This could be lunch. One year we had a full roast in the car. We packed it all up. We went for a 360-degree view of the beach.

In the summer you can spend evenings on the beach with a Barbecue and in the winter the dark evenings are perfect for an outdoor fire.

Take the opportunity to go outside, whenever you can, whatever the weather.

And when you really can’t

Drawback the curtains as soon as it starts to get light and collect treasure from nature and bring it inside, making a little display. Maybe a bowl of shells, attractive pebbles, autumn leaves, feathers, twigs with little twinkly lights around it or fir cones. Anything that reminds you of the outside and you can dot these around your home or workspace.

Or simply get comfortable next to your favourite window and watch the world go by.

Taking time to get outside is way more than just a luxury or an activity for the weekends, it is a great boost for your health and productivity.