我们花了一个惊喜90% of our time indoors和the lack of sunlight and fresh air could be taking its toll on our health.
Concentrations of pollutantssuch as carbon monoxide, mold and volatile organic compounds are higher indoors; indoor air pollution has been linked to headaches, fatigue, respiratory illnesses and heart disease. Too little exposure to natural light has also beenassociatedwith increases incortisol, the stress hormone, and lower levels of melatonin increasing the risk for depression and poor sleep.
WHAT’S THE MAGIC NUMBER?
You don’t have to set up an office at the local park or trade the treadmill for a run in the park (though both are great ideas for boosting vitamin D levels). The latestresearch, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found spending 120 minutes per week outdoors was enough to boost health and well-being.
埃克塞特大学研究员的研究合着者伊恩·阿尔科克（Ian Alcock）博士解释说，无论户外时间如何分解，好处都是相同的。换句话说，您可以在星期六的户外120分钟或每天在外面呆20分钟。吸收阳光的时间越多，越好。
“Positive associations peaked between 200–300 minutes [and] the increase in the likelihood of reporting good health and high well-being was markedly and progressively greater for increased exposure over 2–3 hours,” Alcock adds.
大自然和锻炼的好处
The research wasn’t set up to assess the reasons nature promotes well-being but Alcock suggests nature provides a break from focused attention (hello, deadlines), stress reduction, social interaction and opportunities to be active.
“We observed comparable benefits among those who did and who did not achieve recommended exercise guidelines,” he adds.
Setting aside 120 (or more) minutes per week to spend outdoors is a small investment of time that offers big health benefits.
In addition to the perception of improved health and well-being noted in Scientific Reports, other studies have found clear associations between spending time with nature and health outcomes. Natural sunlight and time in nature have been linked toreduced perception of pain;improved vision和enhanced mood and concentration. A 2018studyalso found spending time in green spaces was associated with a decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and pre-term death.
GETTING AN ENERGY BOOST
Your workouts might improve, too.Researchpublished in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found spending 20 minutes outdoors provided an energy boost equivalent to drinking one cup of coffee (with no post-caffeine crash).
Among groups that hiked outdoors for 45 minutes or walked on a treadmill for the same length of time, those who spent time outside felt more alert and less fatigued after their workouts, according to 2017research.
Margaret M. Hansen, EdD, a professor of nursing at the University of San Francisco has studied森林沐浴，在森林里度过健康和福祉的古老习俗，并相信自然世界的治愈能力，并指出：“当我在森林里行走时，我会想到五种感觉……我感到压力融化了离开。”
Hansen’sresearch, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, referred to nature therapy as “a potential universal health model” for stress reduction and well-being.
她说：“看看人类在城市地区存在了多长时间，以及在短时间内有多少疾病在这一短时间内变得很普遍……与人类在没有当前主要疾病的情况下幸存下来并蓬勃发展的时代相比。”“回到大自然并[体验]健康和福祉的好处可能是明智的。”
All it takes is 120 minutes per week.
