Discover the Health Benefits of the Great Outdoors

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What if I told you stepping out of your door could change your life? And no, I'm not talking about going to the gym or on a shopping spree. I am however talking about spending time in green spaces, parks, or simply out in the open. Connecting with nature has been proven to have numerous health benefits, from boosting vitamin D levels to improving mental health. It's easy to forget the outdoors in our fast-paced modern times, but we're here to remind you why it's crucial to prioritize it.

In this episode we discuss the science behind how sunlight and nature can uplift our wellbeing and improve your overall health. Let's start reconnecting with the earth and improving our health one breath of fresh air at a time.

As always, thank you for listening to We All Have Something.  If you wish to connect with Rick beyond the podcast:
Website: www.CoachRickSchwartz.com
YouTube: @RickSchwartz
Threads: @Coach_Rick_Schwartz
Instagram: @Coach_Rick_Schwartz
Facebook Page:  @CoachRickSchwartz
Threads: @Coach_Rick_Schwartz

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Episode Music "Inspiration Corporate" by Sandra Inspiration Music
Music rights purchased through AudioJungle.

Nothing in this podcast should be taken as therapy, medical or mental health care. Topics discussed on this podcast reflect the personal experiences of the host and guests of We All Have Something and are not intended to, nor should they, replace the services of medical care, mental health care or therapy.

If you are having thoughts of self harm or ending your life, please call or text 988 - Help is available 24/7.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:22

Welcome to another episode of we All have Something, and this episode coming to you right here on the last Wednesday of July of 2023. And, if you're paying attention, you know, last week I was on vacation while you were listening to the new episode, because I was able to record it, of course, before I went, but now I'm back. I'm back and refreshed, and my vacation, my time away, gave me an idea for this episode. So, before we jump into that, though, I just want to thank all the supporters who have stepped up to support this podcast. Being a listener-supported podcast allows us to keep this ad free, allows me to keep the lights on, as they say, because there are, of course, some underlying costs to keep the podcast going, and I can't thank you supporters enough. You're helping to balance that out and to allow me to enjoy just making podcasts and not worrying about how I'm going to pay for stuff. So you're awesome. Thank you, I appreciate you. And, hey, if you're not a supporter yet and you're interested in becoming one, just scroll down in the episode notes. The very first link available at the very top right there will guide you through how you can donate a couple of bucks every month, or even a couple of bunch of bucks. A bunch of couple bucks, but I don't know. That should probably be edited out, but I'm not going to because, hey, we're human and we got to celebrate that. That's why we're here.

Speaker 1: 1:30

In fact, let's just jump right into the intro, shall we? I'm Rick Schwartz, life coach, public speaker and all around curious guy. My curiosity, my life and the lives of the many people I have worked with have taught me time and time again that there are challenges to overcome and successes to celebrate. You're listening to. We All have Something a podcast about the human experience, a podcast about celebrating our authentic self. So let's get started. Like I mentioned at the intro of this episode, last week, as you know, if you heard last episode, I was on on a vacation. I took a break, and how important that really is is what the last episode was all about. I'm back from that vacation now. I'm rested and relaxed and jumped right into the middle of the work week, and here we are now recording.

Speaker 1: 2:17

For the very last Wednesday of July. We have officially, depending on where you live, one more summer left, or one more summer left, one more month left of summer, although technically, summer doesn't end until the end of September. Traditionally here in the US, where I live, our schools go back into session in mid-August to late-August. So it kind of feels like we're in that last little group of few weeks, if you will, of summer. And with that I want to point out something that I've known for a long time, something innately. I've known innately, I should say for a long time.

Speaker 1: 2:48

And summer here in the Northern Hemisphere is a great time to think about this, where, in fact, we tend to do it more often because there's more daylights throughout the day cycle and it's warmer out in the winter months. We tend not to pay attention to this as much. We don't want to go outside, especially if you're up north, where it's really really cold in the winter. But here's the deal it is incredibly so very, very important for your physical health, your mental health and your emotional health to be outside. Now, I know, I know, hold up, you know there's mosquitoes and there's poison ivy and there's sunburns and all this other stuff. Look, there's plenty of things that we can do to mitigate or stop that from happening. So I'm not even going to address that side of it.

Speaker 1: 3:29

I want to talk today about how important it is for you to get your butt outside, and this is probably even most important for those who don't have the opportunity to go outside, whether it's because you work in an office environment, or maybe the temperatures are extreme, so it's hard to get out and be comfortable. I get it, but just hear me out here. This is why it's so important for us to get outside. Actually, before I jump into that, I do want to share this with you. I have always felt good outside. As a child, we were sent outdoors. You know, winter or summer, just go outside and run off some energy. But I do know this. I do know I felt so much better when I was outside.

Speaker 1: 4:07

You can say it's the fresh air or the sunlight or all the above, but the reality is it is all the above. See, I believe, and I always have believed. From my experience with working with animals for many, many years and working with people and connecting people to those animals in the wildlife, I know we have an innate desire to be connected to nature, to be outside. I know that innate desire, though, is often stifled underneath the things we have to do, the life we have to live where we have to be when we work, when we're home, getting the kids from school or being in school, if you're still in school. All of this is indoors controlled temperatures, controlled lighting. Maybe the air is properly filtered, maybe it's not, and although we still know we feel good when we get outside, we go somewhere, we take that deep breath when it's a beautiful sunset, or at the beach or out in the forest, whatever it may be we tend not to prioritize that.

Speaker 1: 5:02

This episode is to help you to remember that you should prioritize that and this is why. So here's some of the fun basic facts that I found just simply looking around some medical documents, medical newsletters, about why being outside is so important. So, right off the bat, medical news today says sunlight initiates the body's process in the production of vitamin D. Now, why is vitamin D important? Well, right away, I can tell you there are plenty of studies out there underneath a little asterisk underneath we are very vitamin deficient. I take supplements. I take the mind and body supplements that I've talked about in this program before. It's really just been amazing. In fact, I'm gonna do an episode coming up to bring back that topic, because I talked about it when I first started taking my interview to the founders who put this stuff together, but the studies that they were citing and showing that really how deficient our food is right now, why supplements are important.

Speaker 1: 5:56

Getting outside allows your body to convert vitamin D2 to three. This is important because this supports the health of bones by allowing the body to properly metabolize and regulate calcium. Now get this we often think calcium's just about the bones, calcium's about keeping our bones strong and as we get older especially, it's super important and it is. I'm not saying it's not, but you have to understand. The human body, as with many animals, utilizes calcium in other ways as well. Your body needs calcium for your muscles to move. It's part of the process of how your muscle cells work. They need calcium to function as well and for nerves to carry messages between the brain and every part of your body. Calcium is needed for that as well. So when you start looking at calcium deficiency, you think, oh, I should take more calcium. But your body also needs vitamin D3 to convert the useful or convert it to useful calcium to allow your body to the.

Speaker 1: 6:51

Vitamin D3 is needed to make your body available, or to make the parts of your body available to receive that calcium. It's a really cool process how our body does this, and it's true for other animals as well. Again, coming from the animal care side, I can't tell you how important it is. The animal spends some time outside as well, even in the winter months, because they need that UV light to help out that conversion. Now here's the other part of it. When you do get outside, sunlight will also help reduce inflammation, and that's begin. That's thanks to calcium, thanks vitamin D, thanks calcium. It supports your immune system. Now, vitamin D is very important for immune system. I know a lot of people were talking about vitamin D injections and increasing your vitamin D during the whole COVID thing. Right during all this, this outbreak of the pandemic Vitamin D became super important for those who weren't sure about what routes they wanted to go with medications or anything else, but they definitely wanted to go with the vitamin route. Vitamin D was a big deal. This is because it improves and helps sustain a healthy immune system. It helps support it so it can do what it's supposed to do. And then, last but not least, it helps the body metabolize glucose. Or basically, by saying metabolize, it can use glucose appropriately, so your sugar levels tend to stay more balanced.

Speaker 1: 8:02

Now, I'm not saying you go outside, you spread your arms wide and your face is sun and poof. All this stuff happens. Of course, you need to be outside for a duration of time and make a habit of it. Get out there every day and enjoy the sunlight. Yes, wear a sunblock. Yes, make sure you're protected from the abiding insects and bugs and don't go walking into the poison oak.

Speaker 1: 8:21

But spending time outside every day, or as frequently as you can, has a ton of benefits for regulating a balanced body. It doesn't mean you're suddenly gonna feel better. It doesn't mean you only got a head cold, I'm gonna go outside and I'll get vitamin D and I'll be all better. No, that's not how it works. That's not how it works. The idea is that you're living a healthy lifestyle to maximize your body's ability to function the way it's supposed to reaching homeostasis, if you will. And then, of course, guess what? When things like a cold or whatever come along other challenges, your body's healthy and able to manage it appropriately, or you don't go down the path of being deficient in calcium or vitamin D. Now, other findings also support, outside of what I just told you about, that healthy amounts of sun exposure is linked to lower blood pressure and reduce rates of cardiovascular issues. Furthermore, it also suggests that exposure to sunlight triggers the skin to release stores of nitrogen oxides which cause the arteries to dilate, naturally lowering blood pressure. So this is another separate study from all the calcium and vitamin D stuff is that research supports the lowering of blood pressure when you're outside with sun exposure.

Speaker 1: 9:31

Daily exposure to sunlight also supports your circadian rhythm. Sunlight supports better sleep. Now I think we'll head to the house. Sunlight's pouring in the window. How's it going to make better sleep? What you're doing is you're triggering your body's succinct circadian rhythm to the natural rhythm of daytime, nighttime. We live in a world now with so much, so much fake light, so much man-made light. We don't have to go to bed until we want to go to bed because we have all the lights on us. It still feels like daytime. I think, honestly, we could talk about our sleep habits and that could be a whole other episode. So we're not going to go down that path, but I'm just saying exposure to sunlight has been proven to help sync up your proper circadian rhythm, which is going to support better sleep and also regulates the levels of serotonin and natural melatonin. This is important.

Speaker 1: 10:16

Again, it's not one of those things where you're like oh, I haven't heard them going to sleep. Rick said go out and be in the sun for 10 or 15 minutes so I can sleep, fine. No, it's about making sure you get daily exposure. It's about making it a habit to get outside, and there's more research on more levels as well. Now, this paper also included some anecdotal evidence, along with some research that's been started. That basically says you just feel better, you just feel good. There's feel good chemicals being released when you're outside and in the sun.

Speaker 1: 10:44

One of the reasons they cite that this might be a thing is exposure to UVB, another form of the UV rays we get from the sun. It causes human skin to produce beta endorphins, which are hormones that reduce pain. Now, of course, again you break your arm. Oh, I'm fine, I don't need pain relief, I'm just going to go lay out in the sun because Rick said so. No, that's not how it works. These are general basic experiences. Your body will do so, releasing and producing beta endorphins. These hormones reduce general pain.

Speaker 1: 11:14

Other benefits include promoting sensation of well-being and improved mood. Again, you're having a really bad day. You're dealing with chronic anxiety. It's not going to change it like a light switch. Just get out there, do the habit of being outside, and this can promote sensations of well-being and improving your mood. It will boost your immune system. We know this is scientific fact because of the way we can transfer vitamin D2 into D3 and how that helps your immune system Relieving pain, promoting relaxation, helping wounds heal, helping people feel more alert and awake.

Speaker 1: 11:48

I'm Katie Emre. Then we talked about that. Get this. This one's. I've talked about before, in fact, the last episode I said hey, get up away from your computer and go take a break, go for a walk outside. You heard me say that. Right, so here's another one. It increases job satisfaction when people's workspaces have access to sunlight. If your workspace does not have access to sunlight or it's got mirrored or tinted windows, go outside, you'll feel better. Yes, looking outside helps. You can see the outside world, it changes your focal points for your eyes, but it also helps tremendously with your attitude and how you feel.

Speaker 1: 12:20

If you can get outside in the sun and some research does support it does reduce situational depression. So not chronic or clinical depression, but situational depression. So if you're feeling down because of something, you can go outside and go for a walk and you will feel a little better after that. This is all in scientific research, scientific papers. It's all there. Another research also supports that getting sunlight in through your eyes actually triggers certain things in the neurons in your brain to alleviate stress and make you feel better that way as well. So I have been told that it's a good idea sometimes to go for a walk and take your sunglasses off for a little bit to allow the natural light in, instead of UV blocking lenses that would prevent those rays from coming into your eyes. Now, obviously, don't stare at the sun. Don't be outside for 20 hours in the sunlight without your sunglasses on, but take them off for 15 minutes while you're out for a walk. See what happens. So getting outside not only has all the scientific research and benefit from sunlight, but I'll tell you what I also know Would.

Speaker 1: 13:23

We have the opportunity to reconnect with nature? We have the opportunity to get our feet or our hands in the dirt or the sand or in the mud or in the creek or the river or the ocean. When you can feel and hear the wind, when you can connect with plants and animals out in the wild, it allows you to feel more at peace. The hustle and bustle and energy of our city lives, our busy lives, our computer lives, our lives dictated by screens. It shortens our focal point. It sends unnatural light waves into our eyes. If you can take time, even once a week, to truly get away from electronics and to get outside, into a space that allows you to feel the fresh air, to feel the earth, to be close to plants and animals and nature in some level or another, the value of this for your body and your mind are so, so high, the value I can't even put a number on it, honestly, and I'll tell you this is personal experience as well.

Speaker 1: 14:28

I know this when I've been cooped up, working in my car, in the office, wherever I might be, and for a long period of time, and I don't get a chance to get outside doing man. Once I finally do, it feels so good and you know if you follow along on my social media, you know. Every Sunday, or as close as I can make it, every Sunday, I go out for a run. I choose whenever, as much as possible, to run up in the hills behind my house, away from the streets, away from the houses, away from the cars, and it is, it is so such a momentous change when I have the opportunity to get outside like that, because I do have to run probably about a mile through the neighborhood before I get into the open spaces. And I I'm telling you right now, I count my blessings and I am full of gratitude that I live where I live, that I can do this most every weekend of the year and I live in a place that is close enough to open trails that I can take advantage of them.

Speaker 1: 15:20

I know not everybody has that and I want you to try as hard as you can to find a way to utilize finding green spaces, natural spaces or a park to get yourself out there. There's somebody I'm connected with on social media. They live in the middle of a desert but there are some city parks and they will go into that city park and kick off their shoes and walk in the grass and they enjoy the trees for what it is, and that's just as good as if you're walking in the Redwood Forest or you're in the mountains of the Colorado or you're down at the beach here in San Diego. Whatever it may be. The point being is being conscious and thoughtful of being in the moment, being there in the wilds, being free of your electronics, even if it's for 15 minutes, and that's the other part of it. Then, when you do find yourself outside, put away your phone, even if you're at work, and you can put it in your pocket and put it on vibrate if someone needs to get a hold of you, right.

Speaker 1: 16:08

But what I love to do, even if I'm doing a neighborhood walk, honestly, but preferably out in the hills behind my house I pay close attention to what is around me. Are there lizards, rabbits, birds, hawks which are birds, I know coyotes, bobcats, butterflies, just a fly wildflowers, dried grasses, depending on the time of year, whatever it might be sagebrush, I don't care. Look around you. If you're in a park, that's in the middle of a city, what kind of trees are there? What's going on in those trees? What birds are in there? Are there any nests? You know when your feet are in the ground? Are there any roly-poly's around or earthworms to look at?

Speaker 1: 16:45

Be present in that space and recognize it as a living being on this planet. You are very much connected to all the other aspects of this planet. We can't survive without recognizing our role and our part in the ecosystem we live in, even if you're in a big urban area, we still rely heavily on the outdoors to exist. Fresh water, fresh air, plants, food all of the bees, butterfly they help make our food. Everything is interconnected. When you can recognize your place in that, you can connect further to that. It helps balance you, ground you and center you, even if it's only once a week. The value there for your health is unbelievably proven in science and I can tell you as a coach and someone who practices this myself getting outside can help shift you out of the frantic, high frequency craziness of a busy modern city life that we have, or even if you're just the busy modern life of a stay at home parent. Get outside by yourself, help yourself, shed that energy that is around that space. Nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with that at all. Admitting that that's a thing.

Speaker 1: 17:58

Now I work with high performing C-suite, so CEOs and CEOs and all the above directors of different departments in all sorts of different organizations around the planet these are my clients and it's so fun for me that when I give them this bit of information about okay, here's your homework for this week is to get outside, like you scheduled this. Get your feet dirty, get your hands dirty, get outside. It is so fun for me. Then we connect back the week after that assignment is given to hear in their voice, to see in their face the how they reconnected Some of these people haven't reconnected with that part of themselves and that part of being outside for decades and to be able to see their face and recognize the value that they were reminded of, the value of reconnecting with being outside and how it's important to them, how it's important to the body and the mind. It's so fun. It's so fun. I absolutely love it. You haven't done this to do it.

Speaker 1: 18:59

And here's the other thing too. Here's the other thing I work with a lot of people. I do work with a lot of people who work with their hands and they work outside a lot. And the idea like, well, if I'm going outside, I'm outside all the time. Great, great, then you have sun exposure, you have all that.

Speaker 1: 19:16

But have you gone outside just to be outside? Have you gone outside just to connect with being present outside? Instead of, this is your job, this is your workspace, this is what you have to do, whether it's construction or working on a farm or a ranch, or animal care or anything else that you might do outside as a job or a career? Have you spent time outside, though, just to connect with seeing what's around you, touching what's around you, and not be focused on work, because the mindset's a key component to it? And same thing, same thing with the office bound of people and people who work outside for a living thing. I don't need to go outside because I work outside. They do this practice of going outside, to be outside and being present Game changer. I love it when we come back for the next session and like, okay, I didn't think it would be a big deal, but you know, I never noticed.

Speaker 1: 20:05

And here's the thing too. Once you start doing this, even if you're just walking from your car to the grocery store or walking from the train station to your office, you start to notice different things outside you don't normally notice, and you start to recognize the value in noticing these things as well. Instead of staring at your phone while walking from the train station to your office or from the car to the grocery store, instead of looking at your phone or checking on something else, you're like I'm going to just kind of check things out. And yeah, there's trees in the parking lot, I wonder. And there's birds in the parking lot. Oh, there's a butterfly going by. And same thing in the city. You can have urban wildlife as well. The value in taking time to go outside is hugely important for your physical health, your mental health and your emotional health, and I cannot encourage that enough. And that's going to wrap it up.

Speaker 1: 20:48

For this episode Coming up in August, we've got a couple of new guests coming on board, so stay tuned for that. Make sure you subscribe if you haven't already, and if this episode or any other episode has served you in any way. I'd really appreciate a review or leaving stars wherever you listen to your podcast. If there's a way to do a review or leaving stars, it does help others who are looking at this podcast as something they might want to listen to and go. Yeah, oh, that sounds good because, look, these other people did too. It's a great way to spread word of mouth and acknowledgments by doing so. I'd appreciate it if you just take a moment to do that.

Speaker 1: 21:20

And, of course, if you're interested in talking more with me about my coaching or learning more about me in general, just go to my website, coachrickschwarzcom. All the links are down below for the website as well as my social media. You can find me on Facebook, instagram threads, all the things, and there's even a YouTube channel as well where you can catch up on other things. I've done a lot of videos in the past about things like imposter syndrome or breaking through procrastination, other cycles, and, of course, there's a lot of episodes here on the podcast as well. So, either way, you can check that all out.

Speaker 1: 21:48

If you would like, you can sign up for a free 30-minute discovery call where you and I connect, talk about coaching, talk about what I do. If we both feel that we're a good connection for a coaching client, we'll move forward from there to set up how the coaching works and all of that stuff. We'd love to chat with you more about that, and if at the end of that call, we decide, eh, it's not really going to work out, you know, great talk anyways, no big deal. I love having conversations with folks and seeing where I may be able to help out, even in a 30-minute discovery call. Either way, wherever you are, I want you to know. I really appreciate you being here. Thank you so much for listening. Have a good one, everybody.