Are We the Indoor Generation?

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. It has been a dicey couple of weeks what with ice storms and power outages and there seems to be more on the way. Sigh. I’m done with winter, how about you? While I was snuggling under my blanket during one of these storms, I saw a short video on Facebook, and I was introduced to a term I hadn’t heard before describing our generation. That term was the “indoor generation.” Are we the indoor generation?

 

According to statistics, we spend ninety percent of our time indoors. We exercise indoors, work indoors, and socialize indoors. When we don’t let fresh air into our homes, that indoor air becomes more polluted than the air outside. This isn’t good for our families and the lack of sunlight can affect our children’s learning.

Photo on VisualHunt.com

Living in a damp and moldy home increases the chance of asthma by forty percent. That is a scary statistic. We need to let fresh air into our homes by opening our doors and windows and not rely on air conditioning so much. I know during the winter this is hard to do because it’s so darn cold, but the more fresh air we have the better off our families will be.

Photo credit: Michael Gabelmann on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC

 

So, we’ve drawn the conclusion that living solely indoors isn’t good for us physically, but what about mentally?

Depression is on the rise, especially in the teen demographic. Could it be possible that spending time outside in the fresh air and sunlight would help people struggling with depression? I’m drawing the conclusion the answer is yes.

Why do I draw this conclusion? Because it’s been scientifically proven that walking in nature is good for us. It relieves stress and boosts our immune system. Plus, everyone knows we get vitamin D from the sun, right?

There’s this new term called Forest Bathing and when we walk through the forest we inhale phytoncides. The trees in the forest release these compounds into the air they boost our immune system and help us fight cancer. I’m all for that! For more information on Forest bathing, check out this link.  https://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2017/08/05/the-benefits-of-forest-bathing/

Photo on VisualHunt

Also, being near the beach is good for us, too. It reduces stress levels and blood pressure, and of course being out in the sun allows you to get that vitamin D we need, and it increases the level of serotonin in our brains, which helps with depression. So, you can’t go wrong spending time in nature. We have to slow down and take care of ourselves. That means taking the time to hike through the woods and head to the beach.

Photo on Visualhunt

Let’s not be the indoor generation anymore. Let’s be the generation that turned our health around and taught our kids the importance of getting out into the fresh air, nature, and sunlight. Our planet has everything we need. If we take care of it, our planet will take care of us.

Thanks for reading my post today. How do you feel about being the indoor generation? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!