Outside, Go Outside, Be Outside.

Yes, it is pollen season in the Triangle of North Carolina, so if you are an allergy sufferer you might choose to wait a few days before you go outside and inhale deeply. But the temperatures are moderating cool to comfortable now. Time to make the effort to get outdoors every day, even if it is just for a short time. Here are three reasons why.

Ward off Vitamin D deficiencies.

Vitamin D is one of the few vitamins that you cannot get adequately from the foods that you eat. Vitamin supplements can help but the best way to get vitamin D is to expose your bare skin to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to a whole host of physical ailments, from chronic fatigue to worsening Alzheimer's disease. You are particularly susceptible to this deficiency if you stay indoors. Getting enough exposure to sunlight can happen very quickly, particularly in the summer. You don’t need to tan or burn your skin to get vitamin D. Sit or walk outside for 15 minutes (or less if you have very fair skin) with some bare skin showing to give your body it's needed vitamin boost.

Wake up the senses.

Walking or sitting outside has proven to reduce stress, mitigate depression, and lower blood pressure in study after study. One reason of course is that it requires some exercise and movement to get outside, which is beneficial. Another reason is that the experience of being outside encourages full sensory involvement. Let your skin feel the breeze or the heat of the sun. Take in the changing color of your yard or street; watch people pass by. When your nose smells the dirt or the magnolia blossom and you hear traffic hums or bird songs; your brain is registering a fully alive moment. Drink a glass of sweet tea or eat some fruit in season and you recharge with all five senses.

Wonder at the mystery.
Daily interaction with the great outdoors invites one to be amazed or in awe. Exclaim at how tall the neighbors' child has grown, watch the heavy bumblebee hover over the dogwood blossom, observe the clouds darken and mass before the droplets fall. These common occurrences can still bring a sense a wonder and gratitude when you experience them. They may spur happy memories or cultivate new ones. Each day offers moments of mystery, especially when you get outside.

When Dawn isn't working for Always Best Care clients she is most likely outside.