Getting Outdoors

Getting outdoors has so many positive effects on your mental health, these include:

• Reduces feelings of stress
  - Being in nature can decrease the stress hormone cortisol. It can make you feel more relaxed, it has also been found that walking near water whether it a lake, river or the sea can boost this effect.

• Improves your mood
  - Breathing in the fresh air can raise levels of oxygen in the brain and in turn increases levels of serotonin, a mood-altering neurotransmitter.
  - Exercise outdoors such as walking, jogging or cycling releases endorphins which trigger a positive feeling in the body.

• Improve focus and concentration
  - In our busy lives there are distractions everywhere, this can cause our attention span to decrease, research shows that having a break in nature can restore concentration and focus. 

• Improve sleep
  - Going for a walk outdoors does not only expends energy but can also make you feel more relaxed and improve the quality of your sleep. This works especially well if you go for a walk in the late afternoon or evening.
  - Getting a sufficient amount of sleep improves your brain function.