How Outdoor Activities Can Tackle Loneliness
5 min read
We know what it’s like. You stay indoors for days, weeks, and before you even know it – you’ve forgotten how sunlight feels in your face. The convenience that you can have from staying indoors can only do so much for your comfort. Staying indoors is often linked to loneliness and a sedentary lifestyle. It may be one way someone can trigger people with underlying mental illnesses like depression or anxiety. If you’ve been feeling low on your moods lately and you are spending most of your time indoors, then you might need some changes in your life as soon as possible.
There are many ways to address loneliness. Some might suggest that you see a therapist, while some might just simply say that you should make an effort to live a healthier lifestyle. The latter is cheaper and possibly more accessible to you as soon as possible. One thing you can do to help yourself to a happier life is to do more outdoor activities!
Table of Contents
Simple Ways You Can Enjoy the Outdoors
1. Be One With Nature
There’s a reason why people go out on hiking and camping trips, beach vacations, and other nature-based activities when they are stressed from work or school. This can also work if you have spent too much time indoors.
When you are in nature, the environment doesn’t cause too many triggers that demand your attention. If you are just sitting in a garden, there aren’t as many elements that would require you to focus, and you can just freely appreciate what is available.
The calming effect of nature doesn’t end with helping yourself to think about fewer things. The sunlight can give you a boost of needed Vitamin D and can help you get more sleep.
Sufficient sleep is linked to good mental health because it simply rests your mind and readies it for the following day. How? Our bodies have a natural sleep pattern called the circadian rhythm. Sunlight is a way of telling your body when it is daytime and when it’s night. Once you’ve gotten this much-needed dose of sunlight, your body will prepare itself to sleep properly at night.
2. Going for a walk
One of the simplest ways to start spending time outdoors is by going for a nature walk. Studies show that adults diagnosed with depression are more likely to improve their memory and overall moods when taking a 50-minute nature walk. While it’s hard to find the root cause of our loneliness, taking time for a nature walk can lift the heavy clouds from your shoulders.
So the next time you feel lonely, and the weather is fine outside, just don’t think about it anymore and simply go for that walk. Do you have a dog? Even better! Take your furry companion with you so you can enjoy your nature walks together.
3. Cycle around
Do you have a trusty old bike that you can use to make some nature trips? Great! But if not, we suggest that you get yourself an electric bike for more fun and more sustained rides.
Cycling is already fun in itself. That’s why a lot of people see this as a recreational activity. But if you want to spend more time outdoors, you will need something that will help you power through those strong winds, rugged trails, and steep hills. Cycling is also a great form of exercise, or it can burn those calories that you put up with staying a lot of time indoors. Once you get the hang of this ride, you’ll never get enough of it, and the loneliness will turn into fun and excitement, all thanks to cycling.
4. Gardening
Not everyone has a garden, but if you do, consider yourself lucky! You can still have your own though, by making use of that extra space in your backyard.
Some people think it’s a chore to go outside and work with dirt, but really, this is a perfect opportunity to do a nice project for yourself and for people that you live with.
Self-sustaining living (mostly growing your own food and foraging them) is gaining a lot of attention these days. You can start by researching edible/non-edible landscaping and being more creative with your ideas about it. You can learn more about plants you’ve been thinking about growing and see if it is possible to put in your garden.
5. Playing some fun outdoor games/sports
If you have some old sports equipment covered in dust somewhere in your house, you might first need to get them and invite your friends and family to play! May it be that old tennis/badminton racket or that frisbee, you’ll surely have a lot of fun once you start playing. Not only will this expose you to the outdoors, but you will also have an opportunity to spend quality time with your loved ones. Not to mention, you’ll have the much-needed exercise to release those happy hormones!
Look, it can be really uncomfortable to make the first step to get out of there, but it has to be done! If you’ve been in an indoor slump for too long, you will need to go out before your loneliness develops into more severe problems that can both be mental or physical health-related. Don’t think about it too much, and just do at least one of the things on this list. Soon, you will notice that your heart is pumping at a healthy rhythm, you are sweating, getting that much-needed vitamin D from sunlight, and releasing some happy hormones hiding inside you. No one can really help you but yourself, so think of this as a way to love yourself more. Good luck and have fun outdoors! Don’t forget to wear sunscreen! And with all the types of electric bikes released now, you will find the best e-bikes that fit you.
By Trevor James
About the author:
Trevor James is the founder and owner of Electric Bike Paradise, a one-stop-shop for all your electric bicycle needs. He has been selling bicycles, electric bikes, and electric scooters online since 2010 and eventually established Electric Bike Paradise in late 2013 when he happened to meet a seller from Craiglist that introduced him to electric bikes. Ever since Trevor spent time searching for electric bikes online but couldn’t find a single website that offers a wide selection of bikes and informational articles. That is why he decided to start a website where everyone can shop conveniently, browse buying guides, and read educational posts. The website is called Electric Bike Paradise.
