7 Ways to Enjoy Nature & Boost Your Mental Health
September 30, 2020 11:13 AM
Your Next Expedition is to Reconnect
You’ve spent months in isolation. It has been difficult to stay happy and healthy. Now it is time to reconnect. A good way to start is by reconnecting with nature and the great outdoors.
Taking the time to go out and immerse ourselves in nature can be difficult in the best of times. Recently this has become even more challenging and inhibiting, but it is more important now than it has ever been. The resulting health deficits by not going out in the natural environment are documented and extensive. There is plenty of evidence that shows that activity in nature causes positive short and long-term health outcomes.
Expedition Motorhomes in Calabasas is one RV rental company near Los Angeles that sees this as the perfect opportunity for you to do yourself some good. Los Angeles motor home rental companies may not be thinking of your mental health as we do.
Expedition Motorhomes in Los Angeles Offers a Road to Recovery
How can you return to nature safely? In an RV! It’s the “New Normal.” You may want to stay close to home or you may need a road trip. Either way, here are 7 tips to enjoy it and boost your mood.
- Just get outside, even for a brief time. If you want to stay close to home, take a walk in your surrounding park. As little as 20 minutes can cause a real shift in the hormones that affect stress levels. Need more? Walk through the forest that is just outside the door of your RV. You could find yourself strolling through a national park, or by a favourite lake.
- Nature inspires creativity. It has been proven that when we spend time in nature, we can more easily solve problems through a creative process. This is why people who express themselves creatively, spend time in the forests. This is where they go to recharge their creative battery.
- The sound of nature is therapeutic. It is all about the senses. Your mental health is greatly affected by what you hear. The calming sounds of nature, or even experiencing silence in the outdoors can lower blood pressure. It can also lower cortisol levels, which is associated with the “flight-or-fight response. When we are in more urban surroundings, there are constant noises that we are bombarded with that elevate our stress levels.
- Bring nature indoors. If you are unable to leave your home, bringing a little nature indoors goes a long way towards boosting your mood. It is even seen as a way of improving indoor air quality. Whether a fish tank, plants, or the use of aromatherapy, you can greatly improve your mental health by bringing the outside in.
- Get in an outdoor workout. Researchers have determined that exercising outdoors not only improves your mood but also increases your confidence. This doesn’t require everyone to be an adventurer. You can make a big difference simply by doing whatever your usual workout is, out of doors. Do your workout around the campsite, or even in your yard.
- Sun is the right medicine. One of the sources of vitamin D3 is from the sun. When exposed to the sun, our skin can manufacture its own vitamin D3. Because skin cancer, particularly melanoma, can be such a devastating disease, it's best to limit exposure, but even 10 to 30 minutes a day helps improve your mood and decrease anxiety levels.
- Picnic with other humans and break out of isolation. Prolonged isolation is tough on mental health. Picnicking with friends outside is a good way to interact and remain socially distanced. Sharing a campsite is even better. You can socially distance and return to your respective camps, but still share greatly needed good times with others.
Whether You Stay Put or Travel to Change Your Scene, the Outdoors is a Healthy Way to Go
Reconnect with nature and reconnect with your family. Giving everyone a change of scenery is a great way to reconnect with your family and unwind. You can simply stay home and bring more of the natural world to you if that is all you can manage right now. That is still a good move. Hitting the road is a dedicated focus and commitment to connecting with nature and reconnecting with your family. Either way the outdoors causes a massive mood shift.
Let Expedition Motorhomes Help You Reconnect
There is a lot to see and this is a great time to see it. Some people prefer camping near bodies of water for swimming, boating, or fishing. Other folks prefer the deep woods, hiking, or climbing. Even if your biggest activity is gathering around a campfire, sharing good times, and just hanging out together, this is where the term “good clean fun” came from.
When you think of the price of most therapies, you really can’t beat our RV rental prices and our unbeaten quality. Just minutes away from Los Angeles International Airport, we offer Airport Pick Up and Drop Off, or, if you want the RV delivered to your home or office, that’s available too. Call us and find out more.
