It’s been a bit quiet here on the blog over the past month.  With the new school schedule requiring me to spend quite a bit of time away from the house doing drop-offs and pick-ups, there hasn’t been a lot of time for writing.  However, the one nice positive of spending so much time driving is that I get to listen to a lot of books. Truly, I find myself buying more Audible credits because I go through them so quickly. Recently, I’ve been listening to a fascinating book written by Dr. David Perlmutter, called Brain Wash: Detox Your Mind for Clearer Thinking, Deeper Relationships, and Lasting Happiness. If you’re searching for a new read, I can’t recommend this one enough!

Chapter 6 is completely dedicated to sharing about the fundamental human need for nature … getting enough Vitamin N … to live a truly thriving life. In fact, he boldly claims that most Americans are suffering from Nature Deficit Disorder, a severe lack of spending time outdoors. Given that the average American spends 87% of their day indoors and 6% of their day in the car, as well as feeling my own lack of time to soak in the sun, I have to agree with him.

Though I know that being in nature is good for my soul and it makes me happy (and calm and relaxed and peaceful!), it was so intriguing to listen to Dr. Perlmutter delve into all the facts about how spending time in nature is so essential for our wholistic well-being.

Not only is nature the original remedy to acute stressors, it can also lower our stress response overall, effectively making us more resilient in general. Extrapolated a bit further, this means that nature could potentially be an essential key to healing from toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences.  This is incredible news for those of us who are parenting children with hard starts.  Scheduling Vitamin N into the routine could be a natural (and free!) addition to creating a wholistic, healing home.

The great outdoors doesn’t stop there, though.  It’s also known to:

• increase empathy,
• encourage mindfulness,
• improve mood,
• increase energy,
• and improve sleep.

And if those reasons aren’t convicting enough, it’s also worthy to note that spending time in nature can decrease inflammation. That’s huge considering that so many diseases begin with chronic inflammation. Similarly, Vitamin N is known to increase our immune function and ability to fight off sickness, which means that taking the time to enjoy the wonders of the natural world is an important investment in our overall wellness and promotion of health. I’d also argue that gardening and working with the soil can be positive for our gut health – we simply need to get dirty to take advantage of the natural microbes!

Also of interest is the fact that fresh air and sunlight can significantly improve focus, even in those with ADHD. Especially as a parent of a child who has ADHD symptoms, this is another great reminder to take lots of nature breaks with unplanned times to simply enjoy our surroundings. Getting out in nature gives our brains a healthy reset by activating the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of our brain responsible for executive functioning skills, decision making, planning, determining right from wrong, and understanding social cues.  Isn’t it crazy to think that nature can offer our brains the ability to do all those tasks?!

It’s also biologically proven that Vitamin N provides true satisfaction and happiness.  And here’s why.  It’s no secret that sunlight exposure provides us with required Vitamin D (of which 42% Americans are actually deficient) for overall health and strong bones.  But Vitamin D is also tied to the production of seratonin , which is our feel-good hormone.  We need proper levels of seratonin to be happy and maintain a balanced mood.  So if we’re not getting enough sunlight to help us produce Vitamin D, we’re simply not going to feel as good.  In fact, evidence supports that getting even just 30 minutes of sunlight per week can lower the risk of depression.  With one in four adults experiencing symptoms of mental illness in any given year, it’s really important to get ourselves outside!  And given that depression and anxiety, particularly, (yes, even in children), seem to be on the rise, I’m convicted enough to make outdoor time a priority for my family whenever possible.

The wise Hippocrates is quoted having said, “Walking is man’s best medicine.”  Let’s follow the doc’s order.  After all, he is the Father of Medicine!