Is It Healthy To Go Outside?

Is it healthy to go outside? That’s a question that I saw recently. Is that a concern you have?

It isn’t really all that surprising. We constantly hear about the dangers of sun exposure and air pollution. They tell us that the sun will give us skin cancer and that air pollution will give us asthma and allergies, if not worse.

Or maybe you already have asthma or allergies to things in the air. I’ve had pollen allergies since I was a year old and it isn’t fun. Is it healthy to go outside where you are?

Is It Healthy to Go Outside?

Those are a lot of reasons why it might not be healthy for you to go outside. Still, I think it is much healthier to go outside than stay inside. If you live in a smog-shrouded city you might need to get out into the countryside every now and then to get the benefits of the outdoors.

The Benefits of Going Outside – Clean Air

The air outside is generally cleaner, or at least more healthy for you than the air indoors. Of course, this may not apply if you live in one of those heavily smog-shrouded cities, but for most people it does.

The materials that make up your walls, floors and furniture add pollutants to the air. Add to that the chemicals that you use for cleaning. If you keep your windows closed then the concentrations can get pretty high.

Sunlight

Sunlight provides many benefits as long as you are careful not to get too much in the middle of the day. The best known benefit of sunlight is vitamin D. Your skin manufactures vitamin D in the presence of sunlight. Sunlight improves your mood, especially if you get stuck inside too long.

Lack of sunlight during the winter in the far northern latitudes, like Alaska, (or southern if you are in the southern hemisphere) can lead to a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder. You need sunlight to stay happy.

The Earth

I wrote about Earthing not too long ago. When you are inside you are electrically insulated from the Earth and build up an electrical charge in your body. Your body doesn’t like it and can respond in various ways, usually with inflammation. Take a little time to walk barefoot in the grass, especially the dew-damp grass first thing in the morning, to reconnect with the Earth and it will drain that charge away.

Magnetic Field

As well as the electrical benefits, the Earth also generates a magnetic field. You may have heard of the Earth’s magnetic poles and the magnetic field it generates to keep us safe from solar radiation. The magnetic field also affects our bodies. All of the cells in the body have positive and negative poles and they can be aligned. Most people understand that the nervous system is analogous to an electrical circuit. Magnetic fields affect electrical circuits. Our homes and workplaces insulate us from the Earth’s magnetic field as well as the electrical field.

Mornings and Evenings

Is it healthy to go outside? Of course it is, but you do have to be careful. Too much of a good thing and all. Mornings and evenings are the best times to go outside. Walk barefoot in the damp grass to reconnect with the Earth. Soak up some sunlight to make vitamin D. Fill your lungs with fresh air.

Mornings and evenings are best because it isn’t as hot as it can be during the middle of the day, especially as you get closer to the Equator. You also don’t receive as much UV light in the early and late hours because those wavelengths are reflected back into space when the sun is low in the sky.

But What If You Can’t Get Outside

Often getting outside isn’t possible or convenient. You have to go to work or school. You barely even get to see the sun through a window. So what can you do?

Fortunately you can bring the outside inside, at least is some cases.

Clean Air

A good air filter will give you clean air. This is a great option if you have allergies or asthma because it should remove the particles in the air that bother you.

You have to be careful with some air filters. Some generate ozone that could trigger your asthma or allergies. They claim that the ozone is good and acts like a disinfectant that kills biologicals like bacteria and viruses. The thing is, you are a biological too.

The other option, the choice that I take as often as possible, is to open my windows. It allows the air in my home to escape so that we don’t experience any buildup of toxic chemicals. Also, natural air contains trace amounts of viruses, bacteria and other things to help build your immune system. Clean, sterile air can only degrade your immune response.

Sunlight

A good vitamin D3 supplement can make up for the lack of sunlight in that regard.

They say that full-spectrum lamps can help you with the emotional aspect of getting enough sunlight. I don’t know if that really works or not because it’s not an issue I’ve ever experienced. That is usually what they promote them for though.

One thing I do know about full-spectrum lamps is that they are great for reading. Have you ever noticed that you can read something more easily if it is lit by natural sunlight? I don’t mean when it is so bright reflecting off the page that it blinds you. Try it for yourself. Look at a page in a novel under a regular lightbulb and then with natural sunlight through a window. I can always read much better with the sunlight. I get the same effect with my full-spectrum lamp.

The Earth

You would think that there wouldn’t be a way to connect to the Earth from inside, but you would be wrong. Actually, if your home is wired correctly, there is a direct electrical connection to the ground at every electrical outlet.

There are pads that plug into the ground port of an electrical outlet so that you can stay grounded as you work. There are also bed sheets that do the same thing for when you sleep. I have had an earthing pad for many years and have proved to myself that it does actually work. I keep it in front of my computer so that I can stay grounded while I work because the computer puts off a lot of radiation.

Magnetic Field

Bringing the Earth’s magnetic field indoors is even easier. You don’t have to connect to an electrical outlet. The easiest way that I know of to surround myself with a magnetic field is to sleep on a magnetic mattress pad. I’ve slept on one for just over 11 years and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Back when I had a job I kept a magnetic chair pad on my office chair. I don’t have a job anymore because I’m self-employed and get to work from home. Now I can go outside whenever I want. I use the magnetic chair pad in the car now. It makes driving much more comfortable and prevents any of that annoying numbness that you can experience when you spend too much time sitting on one place.

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Is It Healthy to Go Outside?

So, is it healthy to go outside? Absolutely yes. Look at the history of the human species. We started off outside. We didn’t wall ourselves in with dead trees and run artificial electric currents through the walls. Any place where it isn’t safe to go outside is our own fault. We polluted it and made it unsafe.

If it isn’t healthy to go outside where you are, or you have to stay inside for whatever reason, you can always bring parts of the outdoors inside. There are many amazing technologies available to do that now.

Is it healthy to go outside where you are or would you be better off bringing the outside inside? Leave me a comment below and please share this post with your followers on social media.

Thanks for reading.