Dear Melissa,
From your perspective as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, what is your take on children’s need for outdoor time?
Currently, the average American child spends only 30 minutes in unstructured outdoor play each day, and more than 7 hours per day in front of an electronic screen (NWF). These statistics should not be new to anyone, as we have heard similar stats cited from various sources throughout the past several years. I, personally, have ranted many times on the need to decrease screen time with our children and increase interactive play. However, for the sake of this article, let’s not discuss what you should decrease or avoid, but let’s create a sound argument for spending more time in the great outdoors!
The fact that playing outside has physical, social, emotional, and cognitive benefits for children (and adults!) is somewhat of a no-brainer. It’s kind of along the lines of eating vegetables. Our grandmas told us to do it, and we all know from experience that it just makes us feel better. However, I won’t rely purely on common sense to dictate that we should all play outside more. I have rounded up some pretty fantastic articles/research studies on the subject!
Benefits of Outdoor Play
My top 5 reasons children benefit from playing outside.
1. Improved physical fitness
- Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. One-third of our children and adolescents were reported as obese in 2012. (CDC)
- Outdoor play creates opportunities for children to burn off energy, build strength and endurance, and helps a child to develop their powers of observation and their assessment of risk. (Healthyalberta.com)
2. Improved attention to task
- A study published in 2004 by the American Journal of Public Health, found that green, outdoor activities reduced the symptoms of ADHD significantly more than did activities conducted in other settings. This held true even when the children were engaging in similar activities, just in different settings.
- These benefits of activities conducted in “green settings” helped improve attention for both children with hyperactivity and those with decreased baseline levels of attention.
3. Improved vision
- A study looked at 2 groups of children of Chinese ethnicity, one group living in Sydney and the other group living in Singapore. The children in Sydney actually read more books per week, and did more total near-work activity, but they also spent much more time on outdoor activities (almost 14 hours per week vs. just 3 hours per week). The children of Sydney, who spent much more time outside, had only a 3% rate of nearsightedness, while the children of Singapore had a much higher rate at 29%. (JAMA)
- In Shanghai, 86% of high school students have nearsightedness (myopia). Higher incomes, urbanization, and the intense education system in which students are commonly studying until midnight every night, are thought to be contributing factors to this high rate of myopia. (NPR)
4. Improved mental health
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to the winter months, when people have less opportunity to go outside.
- One of the primary treatments for SAD is light therapy (photo therapy) to help mimic the natural sunlight one would receive from being outside.
- A Standford University study (2015) had participants walk either through a park or through an urban environment. The participants who walked through the park showed lower levels of blood flow to the parts of the brain associated with “rumination” which is the “pattern of thought focused on the negative of oneself.” Conclusively, participants who walked through the park had less negative thoughts about themselves than the urban walkers.
5. Increased Vitamin D levels
- Vitamin D plays a vital role in the bone-building process by helping the body to absorb calcium.
- Vitamin D is also required for a healthy immune system.
- Additional research on adults suggests that getting enough vitamin D may help lower the chances of developing heart disease, certain cancers, and other serious diseases like diabetes.
- The current recommendation is that teens get 600 IU of vitamin D per day. Most teens fall incredibly short of this recommendation.
- Many children and adults don’t get enough vitamin D, due to not eating enough foods rich in vitamin D and having darker skin color. (Darker skin tones do not absorb vitamin D from the sun as well as lighter skin tones.)
- Getting vitamin D from the sun is one of the easiest ways to obtain more vitamin D. And where is the sun… outside! Of course, everything should be balanced in moderation. Talk to your doctor about your personal balance requirements for the benefits of vitamin D from the sun vs. the harms of UV radiation. (healthykids.org)
- The shortened version for me on the sun debate is that sunshine feels great, and that sunburns feel awful! Use basic sun protection rules to avoid getting too much of a good thing!
So put down your smart phone, computer, or whatever else you are using to read this blog, grab your kiddos, and go outside and play!
Resources:
Langfitt, F. (Narrator).(2015, February 20). Why Is Nearsightedness Skyrocketing Among Chinese Youth? [Radio broadcast episode]. All Things Considered. Washington, DC: National Public Radio, Retrieved from www.npr.org.
Rose, K.A., Morgan, I.G., Smith, W., Burlutsky, G., Mitchell, P., & Seang-Mei, S., (2008). Myopia, Lifestyle, and Schooling in Students of Chinese Ethnicity in Singapore and Sydney. Arch Ophthalmol, 126 (4), 527-530, Retrieved from www.archopht.jamanetwork.com.
Outdoor Play Benefits, Head Start Body Start. Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center, Retrieved from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc.
Health Benefits. National Wildlife Foundation, Retrieved from www.nwf.org.
Benefits of Outdoor Play, Retrieved from http://www.healthyalberta.com/729.htm.
Childhood Obesity Facts, (2015, August 27), Center for Disease Control, Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/obesity/facts.htm.
Kuo, F.E., Taylor, A.F., (2004, September), A Potential Natural Treatment for Attention-Deficit/
Gavin, M.L, (2014, February), Vitamin D, Teens Health from Nemours, Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/vitamind.html#
Seasonal Affective Disorder, (2014, September 12), Mayo Clinic, Retrieved from www.mayoclinic.org/
Goodstein, E. (2015, July). Standford University study says spending time in nature benefits mental health. USA Today, Retrieved from http://college.usatoday.com/