Over the past 20 years life has developed in a way that brings us indoors most of the time. Many of us spend the majority of our time inside.
Modern lifestyles are designed for comfort and safety – if your home has internal access garaging, your office has parking inside the building and your supermarket is inside the mall then it’s easy to avoid any exposure to the elements.
The Covid environment has completely disrupted our lifestyle, mostly to our detriment. However, one significant benefit is that it has encouraged us into the outdoors. In the first lockdowns, outside exercise was one of the only legitimate reasons for leaving the house. Reduced traffic made it safer and more pleasant to enjoy local walking and biking. Many people were able to use the time saved in commuting to get outside for exercise.
On the North Shore we’re very fortunate to have access to many beautiful outdoor areas. The World Health Organization has identified access to urban green spaces as a significant tool to reduce the risk of type two diabetes and improve cardiovascular and mental health. The light, air and atmosphere outdoors benefits your physical, cognitive and emotional wellness. Certain natural environments are more powerful than others due to negative ions. Negative ions are molecules floating in the air that have been charged with electricity. They exist wherever water collides, so the beach is a great place to be.
Exposure to the outdoors is necessary to get your dose of the “sunshine vitamin”. Vitamin D is important for blood, bones and your immune system. Your body needs sunlight to make vitamin D but it doesn’t need much. When the sun is shining intensely it’s recommended to get outside either early morning or late afternoon, keeping an eye on the UV index. When the weather’s a little cooler you can go at any time. It’s ideal if you’re walking outside rather than just sitting so that you’re warm enough to expose more of your skin to the sun. For vitamin D synthesis, exposure must be to direct sunlight as UVB does not pass through glass.
This current fourth lockdown is the only one where we’ve been allowed outside to sit outside as well as exercise outside. The risk of Covid transmission is approximately 20 times less in the outdoors, due to fresh air dispersing and diluting aerosol particles. However, if you’re outdoors in a sheltered environment, less than 2 metres from somebody you could still be infected via droplets in the same way as in an indoor setting. When outdoor transmission has been shown to occur, it has tended to be associated with lengthy, close interactions.
Life is all about balancing risks. The least risky activity is to remain at home. The most risky outdoor activity is sitting in still weather, in a protected environment such as a deck with a roof, without wearing a mask. The safest, healthiest way to mix with people is to meet them somewhere breezy, and exercise at an intensity light enough to continue to wear your mask. If your suburb is a current Covid hot-spot you may prefer to do a little more of the outdoor walking and a little less of the outdoor wine-ing.
Exercise, social contact and the outdoors are all important components for wellness. There is no correct combination. Everyone can decide for themselves what’s the right balance of protecting health and protecting sanity.
