Living in England, we don’t always get to make the most of our outside spaces. However, even on cloudy days, there are plenty of benefits to being outside, many of which help with the ‘symptoms’ of grief:
Exercise – Even a gentle stroll around a park or outdoor space helps to get some extra steps in for the day. It’s no secret that even gentle exercise has numerous health and wellbeing benefits, such as helping to boost mood, helping to manage weight, as well as an increase in self-esteem and energy levels, all things that are often affected when someone we love dies.
Vitamin D – Important for your immune system, energy levels as well as mood, bones and blood cells, being outside provides us with essential Vitamin D – even when it’s cloudy. Bereaved people often find themselves frequently run down and picking up colds more often, the natural boost in Vitamin D can help with this.
A break from screens – Modern life often dictates that we spend half of our time in front of a screen of some sort or other. Being out and about in nature gives us (and our eyes) a much-needed break from that.
Helps you to meet new people – Quite naturally when we’re out and about, we bump into new people and may stop for a brief chat, or leave it at a friendly hello, but even that can help to fight some of the loneliness that grief can bring. It stops us feeling invisible, and like life is just going on around us.
Improves concentration – Studies suggest that the constant demands on our attention and time can severely impact our ability to concentrate, not to mention the brain fog from grief. Luckily, studies also show that time out in nature can give us that much needed break, and help to heal our concentration.
Helps to relax you – Having a break from focusing on the day to day worries and stresses helps you to find some moments of peace, relaxing you and making everything feel just that much more manageable.
At Wathall’s we’ve sponsored two areas of reflection in areas of peace and beauty, so that our families and others can enjoy a quiet moment in the healing outdoors. Heritage Wood at Ednaston can be found be found at the postcode DE6 3AE, and Poppy Wood  at Melbourne can be found at the postcode DE73 7GE.
