Step Outside

The simplest health change you're not making.

Americans spend roughly 90% of their day indoors or inside a vehicle with the windows up. That number should stop you in your tracks.

This is probably the single biggest miss that most people make regarding their health. Anyone focused on improving their health is thinking about diet and exercise, and those matter, but almost nobody is thinking about how much time they actually spend outside. Almost nobody is thinking about their light environment.

Think about it. Human beings have historically spent the vast majority of their time outdoors.It's only in the past century that our work moved inside, under artificial light, in sedentary positions. But our biology hasn't changed. We were meant to be outside.

This doesn’t mean what most people think it means. It’s not about sitting in the sun and baking all day and burning your skin. It means spending more of your time outdoors, in nature, getting fresh air and exposure to the sun, which is the source of all energy on this planet.

This is top of mind right now because the weather is warming up here in the Northeast. It’s been a little unseasonably warm this week, and I’m not complaining. After a pretty cold and snowy winter, I’m grateful for it. As the days get longer and warmer, I just want to encourage you to take advantage.

All I’m really doing is moving things I already do to the outdoors when possible. If I have to respond to some emails for work, I’d rather do it outside for twenty minutes than sit at my desk. When I’m eating meals, I prefer to eat outside this time of year. Lunch and dinner, many days, both outside. Reading a book, same thing. Instead of the couch, take it to the porch or the yard. These aren’t new activities. You’re just changing where you do them.

It also starts with the morning. You want to set yourself up for success. Getting sunlight first thing in the morning tells your brain it's time to be alert. It suppresses the sleep hormones still lingering from the night and kicks your body into gear. It also sets a timer for that night's sleep. Your morning sunlight is literally programming your sleep quality fourteen hours later. Take a quick walk. Or if you have to rush out the door for work, at least put the windows down on your morning commute. That early light is the most important signal your body gets all day.

And here's the part most people don't appreciate. You don't need to be in direct sunlight all day to benefit from being outside. Even sitting in the shade, you're getting infrared light. Infrared makes up nearly half of all the sun's energy that reaches the earth. It bounces off trees, leaves, the ground. It's what helps your body produce energy at the cellular level. Think of it as fuel for your batteries. And most of us aren't getting enough of it, because modern windows are designed to block infrared. Sitting inside near a window is not the same as sitting outside in the shade. If you can't get outside, at least open the windows. That lets in the full spectrum of sunlight that glass would otherwise filter out

If you have pets, pay attention to them. They already know this. My dog wants to be outside all day, rotating between the sun and the shade. Cats will chase a sunbeam across the living room floor for hours. Animals don’t need a study to tell them that light matters. They orient their entire day around it. We’re the ones who forgot.

We evolved to be outside. Most people are totally discounting that from a health perspective. Use this spring to make some minor changes. Move a few daily habits outdoors. Your future self will thank you for it.