Screens have taken over our lives, and we’ve reached a point in our existence where we need a doctor to tell us to get outside. A study<\/a><\/strong> done in the mid-1990s showed that we spend about 87% of our time in enclosed buildings, and another 6% in enclosed vehicles. Spending just 7% of our time outdoors might sound like a frighteningly low amount, but a 2019 study<\/a><\/strong> showed that things have gotten worse over the past 25 years\u2014we now spend just 2% of our time (94 minutes per week) outdoors. And it’s not just adults: children spend half as much time<\/a><\/strong> playing outdoors as their parents did\u20144 hours per week compared to 8 hours per week.<\/p>\n Spending most of our time indoors is taking a toll on our health. Among adults, rates of depression<\/a><\/strong>, poor cardiovascular health<\/a><\/strong>, nearsightedness<\/a><\/strong>, asthma<\/a><\/strong>, and insomnia<\/a><\/strong> continue to rise. Childhood rates<\/a><\/strong> of mental illness, vitamin D deficiency and rickets, nearsightedness, asthma, and poor cardiovascular fitness have increased significantly in recent years as well, and children reportedly experience symptoms of seasonal affective disorder<\/a><\/strong> during summer months simply because they spend most of their day indoors.<\/p>\n Like many things we do today that are in stark contrast to our lifestyle as we evolved, living mostly indoors has proven to have negative effects on our health. Luckily, it seems we’ve hit our rock bottom on this front and are successfully rebounding. Doctors around the world have started prescribing outdoor time to their patients, with impressive results. In this post I’ll talk about how much time we should be spending outdoors, how and where doctors are prescribing outdoor time, and the scientific reasons why being outdoors is good for our health.<\/p>\n<\/div> A 2019 study<\/a><\/strong> of 19,806 people found that 120 minutes (2 hours) per week was the minimum amount of time we should spend outside in order to experience health benefits. Ratings of good health improved with more time spent outdoors, peaking between 200-300 minutes (3.33-5 hours) per week. Of note: Nearly 60% of respondents, or 11,668 people, spent zero time outdoors each week.<\/p>\n The study showed that it didn’t matter whether the time spent outdoors was in one long session or broken up into smaller periods of time. However, periods of just a few minutes outdoors when going about regular daily activities, like walking from your car into a store, were not included. The time spent outdoors had to be in \u201copen spaces, including parks, canals and nature areas; the coast and beaches; and the countryside including farmland, woodland, hills and rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on the results of this study, we should be spending a minimum of 2 hours per week, or 17 minutes per day, outdoors in some type of natural setting (urban parks qualify!). For maximum health benefits, we should aim for between 28 and 42 minutes per day. It may feel a little silly or unnatural to count the minutes we spend outside, but having these research-based statistics helps healthcare providers prescribe outdoor time in the same way they prescribe medication.<\/p>\n<\/div> Doctors and health educators across the U.S. are prescribing outdoor time through \u201cpark prescription\u201d programs. Park Rx America<\/a><\/strong> has nearly 500 registered prescribers in 46 U.S. states and Mexico, and Park Rx<\/a><\/strong> has registered park prescription programs in 35 states. Park prescription programs include a health or social service provider who encourages their patients or clients to spend time in nature with the goal of improving their health or well-being. The programs often include collaboration between park and public land agencies, healthcare providers, and community partners.<\/p>\n Doctors at all 10 General Practice surgery locations in the Shetland Islands of Scotland are now authorized to prescribe time in nature<\/a><\/strong> as part of their patient’s treatment, with the goal of reducing chronic conditions like high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. The \u201cNature Prescriptions\u201d project even provides a calendar<\/a><\/strong> with creative suggestions about how to spend time outdoors and connect with nature, like noticing the shapes of clouds, following a bumblebee, planting a tree, and eating a three-course meal outdoors.<\/p>\n Dr. Qing Li<\/a><\/strong>, a professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, has done extensive research on the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku<\/em>, or \u201cforest bathing.\u201d Thanks to his research, forest bathing is now mainstream in Japan. The country has designated more than 60 forest bathing spots, many within densely populated cities, which are used by up to 5 million people a year. A growing number of doctors are becoming certified to practice \u201cforest medicine,\u201d<\/a><\/strong> and Japanese companies regularly send their employees to forests to rest and reduce their stress.<\/p>\n If trends continue, we may start seeing real ads like these spoof videos from Colorado-based non-profit Nature Rx.<\/p>\n<\/div>How much time should we be spending outdoors?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How and where doctors are prescribing outdoor time<\/strong><\/h2>\n