12 Days of Self-Care: Day 1
On the first day of self-care take a walk on the wild side.
By Brandi McMurry
photo by freestocks on Unsplash
Take a walk through your neighborhood
Making time to walk, breathe, and be one with nature in your own community is first on our 12 days of self-care list!
The winter months can be difficult. It’s cold outside, and the sun goes down so early! In general, energy levels are lower for a lot of people. Seasonal Affective Disorder can be triggered by less sunlight, which is why taking a walk outdoors can be so beneficial for your mental and physical health during the winter months.
The sun is the main source of Vitamin D for our bodies. Vitamin D deficiencies can cause bone pains, muscle weakness or cramps, fatigue, and mood changes like depression. Just a short outdoor walk is enough to absorb Vitamin D through your skin.
Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash
Walking outdoors can also be a therapeutic experience. Exercising, even just walking, is enough physical exertion to dilate your lungs. Our lungs are composed of five lobes, and most of us are not breathing into our full lung capacity. Walking in the fresh winter air can help with blood circulation throughout the body increasing oxygen levels throughout your bloodstream. When your body has more oxygen, your heart is able to rest a bit. Perhaps you’ll notice you are more alert to your surroundings because your brain has more oxygen. A study conducted by the National Institute of Health concluded that walking outdoors led to an increase of creativity in 81 percent of participants.
Your immune system can also benefit from walking outdoors. Often times the outdoor air quality is better than what we breathe all day in our offices. It is a myth that cold weather will give you a cold. In reality, it is people who give other people viruses. Breathing fresh air can help with seasonal allergies (especially for children), by helping clear your lungs from debris and excess mucous.
A study at the Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit in Northumbria found that subjects who were given oxygen versus regular air performed up to 20% better on a memory test. Fresh air can help tremendously with mental focus.
Energy levels can also increase from walking outdoors. A change in scenery, oxygen, nature, and grounding with your community can be enough to give you the pick-me-up you need in place of an afternoon nap.
Walking is also wonderful in aiding digestion. Most of us live a sedentary lifestyle compared to our ancestors. Ideally, we are all able to eat mindfully and enjoy every bite of our meal as we sit down to lunch, however, this is not typically the case. With our busy lifestyles of go, go, go, more production, just one more hour of work, how may I help you? our digestive track sometimes takes the brunt of our actions. Taking a walk outside can help our central nervous system to relax into a parasympathetic state needed to rest and digest not only our food but also our stress from the go, go, go, how may I help you?
Walking in your own community can also be an educational experience. Historical plaques, folklores, and sights can be found on local trails and parks. A sense of community, belonging, and safety are all important for our livelihoods.
Photo provided by Kate Lamprich, Owner of Essential Health and Wellness; learns local history during a sunny winter walk.
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