Benefits of Outdoor Exercise!
Following a bike ride today I felt amazing, I was in a great mood and felt incredibly energised for the day. This lead me to share some of the benefits of outdoor exercise that can help boost your mood as well as your health.
Since the ‘1 hour of outdoor daily exercise’ was introduced I can’t help but feel a large number of people have been venturing out on bike rides, runs and walks more frequently than before. Even avid gym goers may find outdoor exercise remains part of their weekly regime when gyms do eventually open again and this may be an advantage to their health too.
The first benefit is can lower blood pressure and relieve stress.
If you are already struggling with high blood pressure and are concerned with working out for long periods, three to four shorter bouts of exercise throughout the day may help as much as a longer workout.
Secondly it can help improve the quality of your sleep.
Physical activity improves sleep quality and duration. Exercise may also boost sleep in other ways, because it reduces stress and tires you out. But even light exercise—such as walking for just 10 minutes a day—improves sleep quality but it may take some consistency before you see the results.
You get vitamin D which can help improve mood and reduce depression.
Optimal vitamin D levels can help improve your mood, boost your overall brain function, and generally improve your well-being. Whereas Low levels of Vitamin D may contribute to poorly regulated mood and behaviour deficiency can impair cognitive function and brain health.
You may even burn more calories.
Research shows that people burn 10% more calories when they walk or run outdoors than they do when they run inside on a treadmill at the same speed. Turns out the beautiful scenery can distract you from your exercise meaning you work out longer.
There are also many more health benefits to outdoor exercise and if you keep just one part of your routine from this lockdown then the ‘hour outdoor daily exercise’ will be a massive boost to your health.
Chris