There is a whole world outside, so what is keeping us indoors? Sadly, it’s the usual culprits, namely, time constraints and our “need” to stay glued to our computers, tablets, phones, and TVs. So it’s no wonder people hesitate to spend a day outdoors! But let’s reconsider, so we don’t miss out on all the beauty and restorative power that nature offers.
Science is now on the side of nature, the outdoors, and those who love being outside. In fact, there is a term for the health-boosting, stress-relieving value of nature—ecotherapy, which refers to the various physical and psychological benefits of being outside.
A 2009 study found that the closer someone lived to a green space or nature area, the healthier that person was likely to be. In fact, those who lived closest to a park, nature preserve, or wooded area were less likely to suffer from anxiety or depression.
Another study found that those who spent time hiking or resting in a forest had measurably lower cortisol (stress hormone) rates, heart rates, and blood pressure.
The University of Illinois conducted research that showed that children with ADD/ADHD experienced a reduction of symptoms after spending time outdoors (this ties in with a less well-studied theory that these disorders are at least partially “nature-deficit disorders”). Of course, just spending time in nature won’t be a silver bullet for children struggling with ADD/ADHD, but spending some (free!) family time outdoors is worth a try.
Other studies have found sleep improvements, better immune system function, and lower rates of stress-related disorders in those who spent regular time in nature.
So why is nature so important?
One reason time outdoors may contribute to health is the exposure to vitamin D–producing sunlight. This vital prehormone (a substance later converted to an active hormone) is responsible for many aspects of health throughout the body. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to various types of cancer and obesity, as well as mental disorders and other health problems. Though supplemental vitamin D is available, some people (like me) don’t absorb it effectively and must obtain vitamin D through adequate sun exposure. Spending time outdoors in moderate sun is a great way to get natural vitamin D.
Most nature experiences also include some form of exercise—the greatest stress-busting activity ever. Whether rock climbing, swimming, hiking, or canoeing, most forms of outdoor activity also include movement. Spending time outdoors provides a chance for fun movement along with the other benefits of nature. Since we should all be moving each day anyway, get the double benefit and get your exercise outdoors!
“Grounding” is based on the theory that since many of us don’t come into direct skin contact with the earth very often, a positive charge can build up in the body.
Direct skin contact with the earth acts as a “ground” just like it does for electrical outlets, reducing this extra positive charge. Proponents of grounding report that it helps reduce inflammation in the body, relieves stress, and improves sleep quality.
You can practice grounding by walking barefoot, gardening, strolling on the beach, or swimming in a natural body of water.
If you can’t get outdoors, you can still obtain the benefits of grounding by using special “earthing mats” or “sheets.”
Indoor air is up to seventy times more contaminated than outdoor air. With more airtight insulation, windows and doors, and the plethora of chemicals and plastics we bring into our homes, most people come in contact with up to six thousand chemicals regularly.
Spending time outdoors provides a break from indoor air pollution, and outdoor air may have additional benefits as well. Outdoor air is a good source of beneficial negative ions. Negative ions are referred to as “nature’s antidepressants” and are found to have a relaxing and healing effect. Being at the beach and near waterfalls are especially good ways to connect to these ions. Negative ions are also present in sunlight. After a thunderstorm, you can smell the “freshness” in the air. Indoor air, by contrast, is deficient in negative ions and is often dry and contaminated.
Better eye health is a surprising benefit of spending time outdoors, and an increasingly important one. Our society is seeing an increase in vision problems, especially in children. One possible reason is the amount of time that many of us spend looking at a computer or TV screen on a daily basis.
While children used to spend most of their time outdoors, looking at a wide variety of colors, levels of brightness, and depths, they now spend up to seven hours a day staring at a TV, computer, or tablet screen with artificial light. The result is an increase in nearsightedness, even in kids who aren’t genetically predisposed to it.
In fact, a study done in 2007 found that children who spent at least two hours a day outside were four times less likely to be nearsighted. For children, this has especially dire consequences. The researchers speculated that bright outdoor light helps children develop the correct distance between retina and lens and leads to better eyesight later in life. Since indoor lighting does not provide the same benefit, children who spend a lot of time indoors are much more likely to have vision problems later in life.
Staring at a screen can also lead to eye fatigue, headaches, neck and back problems, and other problems in adults.
Need to drop some pounds? Spend more time outdoors, especially in morning sunlight. In fact, a study at Northwestern University found that the earlier a study participant got morning sunlight, the lower the participant’s BMI. This correlation remained strong even after researchers adjusted for exercise levels, age, calorie intake, and other factors that affect your weight. The reason? Getting sunlight in the morning helps keep cortisol levels and circadian rhythms in the right ranges.
The reverse correlation was also true, as exposure to light at night was a factor in gaining weight (another reason to make sure you have a dark sleep environment), but as little as half an hour of sun exposure before noon was enough to have an effect on reducing body weight. This effect is so pronounced, in fact, that my doctor recommended morning sunlight exposure as part of my protocol to help improve my cortisol levels and thyroid health.
Does indoor light work?
Bright morning light outdoors is typically thousands of “lux,” a measure of illuminance that is essentially one lumen per square meter. Indoor light typically only measures a few hundred lux and doesn’t contain the broad spectrum of light needed to correctly support the body’s internal clock.
While 10,000 lux energy light lamps get closer to the level of outdoor brightness and are often used in the winter by those who suffer from SAD, nothing beats the benefits of nature with true sunshine.
I love taking long morning walks on a greenway near our home where there are plenty of trees, wildflowers, and even a small waterfall. I sometimes take my children on these walks, and I always encourage them to spend time outdoors in the morning as well. Whatever works for you, find a way to spend some time outdoors each day and take your family with you.
Thanks to modern hygiene and sanitation, we’ve experienced lower rates of many diseases and health problems. Unfortunately, too much of a good thing can have its problems. Gardeners (statistically) live longer, and it turns out that the dirt itself plays a role here. You see, the clean life may throw off the delicate balance of our immune systems. And that’s why today, you get to start loosening some rules on your family’s relationship to dirt.
We all need healthy gut bacteria. Restoring this beneficial bacteria could be the key to boosting immune function, reducing rates of allergies or digestive problems, and even improving mood.
So where are these healthy bacteria and how can we benefit from them?
Sure, you can take probiotic-rich foods and supplements. But if you really want to round out your healthy intake of probiotics, look to soil-based organisms (SBOs), found in the soil. Exposure to SBOs in the dirt is good for immunity.
For centuries, various cultures have known the health benefits of dirt. There is an old saying that “you have to eat a peck of dirt before you die.” It seems there is wisdom in this old saying. As this 2009 article in the New York Times explains:
In studies of what is called the hygiene hypothesis, researchers are concluding that organisms like the millions of bacteria, viruses and especially worms that enter the body along with “dirt” spur the development of a healthy immune system. Several continuing studies suggest that worms may help to redirect an immune system that has gone awry and resulted in autoimmune disorders, allergies and asthma. These studies, along with epidemiological observations, seem to explain why immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and allergies have risen significantly in the United States and other developed countries.
Heather (from the popular blog Mommypotamus) has talked about the benefits of these types of organisms for people with IBS or digestive disorders:
In [a] double-blind, placebo controlled study researchers found that IBS patients who took a soil-based probiotic experienced a significant reduction in symptoms after two weeks. A follow-up study found that the patients were still experiencing these benefits one year after discontinuing the probiotic, presumably because the beneficial bacteria stay in the gut and continue to function.
There’s also a link between gut health and mental health, and it turns out that certain SBOs play an important role here too:
Mary O’Brien, an oncologist at Royal Marsden Hospital in London, first stumbled upon these findings while inoculating lung cancer patients with a strain of M. vaccae (pronounced “em vah-kay”) [which is a bacteria in the dirt] to see if their symptoms improved. She noticed that in addition to fewer cancer symptoms, patients also demonstrated an improvement in emotional health, vitality, and even cognitive function. (Annals of Oncology 15 (June 2004): 906–14).
So what does it all mean for our kids? It means that all of our cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing could be doing more harm than good at times. Much to the chagrin of their mothers (and my husband!), babies have a natural desire to play in the dirt and put dirty objects in their mouths. Turns out, this could have an important immune-developing purpose: “What a child is doing when he puts things in his mouth is allowing his immune response to explore his environment,” Mary Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, wrote in her book, Why Dirt Is Good. “Not only does this allow for ‘practice’ of immune responses, which will be necessary for protection, but it also plays a critical role in teaching the immature immune response what is best ignored.”
After a study found that kids who grew up on farms or with a dog in the house had fewer allergies, research started to explore the importance of the organisms found in these less-than-sanitized environments and how they impacted health. One leading researcher, Dr. Joel V. Weinstock, the director of gastroenterology and hepatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said in an interview that the immune system at birth “is like an unprogrammed computer. It needs instruction.” Public health measures like cleaning up contaminated water and food have saved the lives of countless children, but they “also eliminated exposure to many organisms that are probably good for us.” He continued: Children raised in an ultra-clean environment are not being exposed to organisms that help them develop appropriate immune regulatory circuits.
Dr. David Elliott, a gastroenterologist and immunologist at the University of Iowa with whom Weinstock has collaborated, noted in an interview that intestinal worms, which have been all but eliminated in developed countries, are “likely to be the biggest player” in proper immune system regulation. He added that bacterial and viral infections seem to influence the immune system in the same way, but not as forcefully.
The results of the study American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine published in 2007 shows the use of cleaning sprays four times a week caused an increase in asthma. Sprays that were included in the increase in asthma were glass-cleaning, furniture, and air-freshening sprays.
The natural organisms in dirt serve an important purpose for people of all ages, but babies have a specific and additional need for interaction with dirt. Breast milk lacks iron because pathogens like E. coli (which can cause severe digestive problems in newborns) need iron to thrive, as do other pathogens. These low iron levels can help protect newborns from these bacteria.
Around six months, a baby’s need for iron and other nutrients ramps up, but breast milk doesn’t increase its levels of these nutrients, and with good reason. At this stage in life, babies spend more time on the ground. In the past, this meant they spent more time interacting with dirt, which is a good source of iron and minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and others. Iron is particularly important for preventing cognitive, motor, and behavioral deficits that may last into the teen years.
But can’t your child obtain enough iron from breast milk? Not really. The Institute of Medicine recommends that infants 6 to 12 months old get 11 mg of iron per day. This iron should come from supplementary foods, in addition to breast milk or formula. You can’t really meet your baby’s requirement for iron on breast milk by itself. If you did, your infant would have to drink between 4 and 13 liters of breast milk a day. That’s a lot!
So breast milk is inadequate? Hardly…
All this research shows that babies are capable of absorbing iron from soil (which they are naturally in contact with at this age if playing on the ground). Other mammals have breast milk that is naturally low in iron at the same developmental times and these mammals are also capable of absorbing iron and other nutrients from the soil, indicating that there is a biological reason for this.
In the past, the umbilical cord also wasn’t clamped immediately after birth (and there is good reason to delay clamping it these days too), which allowed more of the umbilical cord blood (the baby’s blood) to flow into the baby. This resulted in higher iron levels, which would also help baby maintain iron levels for a longer time.
HOW TO MAKE SURE WE GET ENOUGH DIRT
Go outside more often.
Eat some dirt. Just kidding! We don’t actually need to make an effort to consume dirt to get the benefits of SBOs and nutrients in soil—we just need to make an effort to come in contact with it (along with our babies and children).
Encourage your kids (including crawling babies) to play outside barefoot in the dirt as long as the area hasn’t been sprayed with chemicals or contaminated in some other way. Spend time in the garden and walk outside barefoot.
Let your babies have an outside play area with organic dirt once they are three to four months or old enough to sit up or crawl. This area can be just a small kiddie pool or even a pot of organic dirt with some toys in it to encourage play. Yes, the babies get dirty. Yes, they put it in their mouths (that is the point).
Have your older kids help you in the garden and with yard work. Encourage them to play in the dirt too. If they’ve been playing in clean dirt, I also let mine eat outside without washing their hands so they can transfer small amounts of SBOs to their digestive systems.
Consume fermented drinks and food like water kefir, homemade sauerkraut, and kombucha to make sure you’re exposed to a wide variety of naturally occurring beneficial bacteria.
Supplement with a high-quality probiotic/prebiotic blend that contains many of these same organisms. I also sprinkle soil-based probiotics on the foods I feed my little ones and even dump a capsule into the play dirt.
There is just so much benefit to enjoying the great outdoors and playing outside, from a healthier body to stress reduction to stronger immune function.