How Sunshine and Fresh Air Benefit Kids

Fresh Air Benefit Kids
Image by Astrid Pereira from Pixabay

It might seem intuitive to many that an increase in exposure to sunshine and fresh air is beneficial to kids. Still, children are spending way less time outside than they used to and far too many hours indoors, sitting and staring at screens. This shift in the last couple of decades is not a good one. Fresh Air Benefit Kids in numerous ways, from improving their physical health to boosting their mental well-being. The benefits of pushing kids outside to play, run, and even wander are so great that it’s worth listing them here.

More Exercise 

This first benefit is probably obvious, but many people still don’t realize how critical exercise is to children’s overall well-being. Yes, getting kids outside into the fresh air and sunshine will indeed encourage them to exercise more. You may have noticed in any park, playground, or open nature space, you’ll find most kids there are running around. Indeed, most playground equipment for schools and parks is often overrun with children during free play. 

Think about it. It’s hard to move a lot indoors, much less run, jump, swing, and slide. Is it possible? Of course, but you’d typically have to design a class or lesson around movement, like dance or an indoor sport. In contrast, sending kids outside is usually all it takes to get them to be more active. For this reason, it’s important to do just that — commit a couple of hours each day to getting children into the great outdoors, even if it’s just the yard. 

Better Sleep

Because the school day starts so early, many kids are getting very little sunshine in the early hours of the day. You might not realize this is a problem, but it can be a big one. The human brain operates on circadian rhythms, which are established by early morning light. When your eyes are exposed to the sunshine in the morning, your circadian rhythms or your internal clock start. Once that clock starts, your body will count down until it’s time to sleep. 

Without that early morning light, you will have trouble sleeping at night because your clock may have started late. In some cases, it’s thrown off entirely, making sleep elusive all night long. This interruption of circadian rhythms can be especially challenging for kids, who commonly need 10 hours of sleep each night. Just 15 to 20 minutes of early light exposure outside can keep children’s internal clocks moving rhythmically throughout the day, offering them better sleep at night. 

Stronger Immune Systems

Another unexpected way fresh air benefit kids is a strong immune system. The sunshine is a primary source of vitamin D, which is the powerhouse of health. Vitamin D is responsible for building strong bones and teeth, for a healthy brain, and for reducing inflammation, in addition to boosting immunity. The easiest way for your body to produce vitamin D is from sun exposure, and midday sun in particular. 

So, sending kids out to play in the afternoon sun for a minimum of 15 minutes can go a long way toward keeping them healthier in the long run. Indeed, a study done on the Spanish Influenza in 1919 showed evidence that fresh, cool air and exposure to sunlight may have kept infection rates down and sped up recovery in patients. So, fresh air and sunlight don’t just prevent illness; they can help cure it, too! 

Balanced Energy

Who hasn’t been in a room full of screaming, wild children and wondered if these kids ever get outside to play? It’s common knowledge that kids have a tremendous amount of energy, so it certainly isn’t the case that they need more of it. Thus, it would be a misnomer to say that sunlight and fresh air provide “more” energy. While it can give energy to adults, what it does to children’s energy levels is better described as “balancing.”

When you think back to that room of screaming children, what you’re thinking of is negative energy. It’s a frantic, almost manic kind of electricity that needs an outlet, a release. Well, fresh air and sunshine provide that release. Sure, when kids first get outside, they may still run and scream chaotically for several minutes. But over time, you’ll notice the energy becoming more calm, more relaxed, more… balanced. That’s the fresh air and sunshine doing their jobs.  

Level Moods and Mental Health

Finally, parents and teachers so often lament that they just want kids to be happy. Too many children these days are troubled in one way or another. Testing is hard, growing up is challenging, and puberty is impossible. Look, being a kid comes with its fair share of struggles, and it takes a lot of time, patience, and support to grow through it all. And, yes, one element of support that can make a huge difference is time outside. The way fresh air benefit kids is profound, offering them a chance to de-stress, connect with nature, and simply be kids.

Time spent in the sun, moving or not can help level out moods because sunshine boosts serotonin levels — the happy chemical. When you add movement in fresh air and sunlight, you can also count on an improved mental health state. Time spent walking in nature has been shown to reduce levels of depression and anxiety. In contrast, too much time spent indoors, with limited sunlight exposure, has shown a significant increase in poor mental health outcomes. 

Ultimately, the more you can get kids out into the sunshine and fresh air, the happier, healthier, and more mentally balanced they’ll be. This news means they’ll likely be better able to focus when they are indoors, and they’ll have stronger coping skills when they find themselves in stressful situations. What’s more, if you start when they’re young, you may be helping them build habits that benefit them for the rest of their lives. 

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