Did You Know...

The average American kid spends less than 10 minutes a day playing outside and up to 44 hours a week on screens.

Research shows that spending time outdoors has many benefits, from boosting mental and emotional well-being to improving physical health, self-esteem, and creativity. (1)

The Benefits of Nature

5 minutes viewing a natural setting

Improve physical health

5 minutes spent viewing a natural setting results in positive changes in blood pressure, heart activity, muscle tension and brain electrical activity. (2)

Reduce stress

The habit of spending at least twenty minutes a day
in nature could significantly reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. (3)

1 hour of outdoor play

Improve mental health

Replacing one hour of video games with one hour of outdoor play was associated with improved mental health in youth. (4)

References

1. The Children & Nature Network.

2. Hunter, Mary Carol R.; Gillespie, Brenda W.; Yu-Pu Chen, Sophie. Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers. Frontiers in Psychology, 2019

3. Jannsen, Ian. Estimating Whether Replacing Time in Active Outdoor Play and Sedentary Video Games With Active Video Games Influences Youth's Mental Health. PubMed, 2016.

4. Ulrich, Roger S. Simons; Roger F., Losito, Barbara; Fiorito, Evelyn; Miles, Mark A.; Zelson, Michael. Stress Recovery During Exposure to Natural and Urban Environments. Journal of Envrionmental Psychology, 1991.