Take it Outside: Why I go outside every morning to drink my coffee

Most mornings, my day usually begins with me stepping outside for 10-15 minutes, no matter the temperature, to read a few pages of a book or to drink my morning coffee. This may sound like a pleasant way to start the day, and indeed it sometimes is…. during warmer months at least. However, I continue to do this even throughout the bitter cold mornings in the depths of the Chicago winter. The reason this morning ritual is so important to me, irrespective of the weather, is because the benefits of being outside and engaging with my environment are too great to pass up.

I think we all subconsciously understand that being outside to catch a nice breeze and sunshine makes us feel better. However, we do have data that supports what we inherently already understand.

Spending time outdoors (particularly in parks, gardens, yards, nature trails, etc.) is shown to improve mental health, physical fitness, emotional intelligence, creativity, and an overall oneness with the world. Studies show that a few minutes of direct sunlight exposure in the morning signals your body to suppress melatonin production while increasing serotonin (a happiness hormone) which boosts mood and alertness. Furthermore, evidence suggests that outdoor time promotes more creative thought.

Unfortunately, rapid cultural evolution in the digital age along with a general shift towards a service-based economy, has led many in western civilization, particularly in the US, to spend less and less time outdoors for both recreation and work. Despite the abundance of evidence of the benefits of spending time outdoors along with our basic human intuition that says time is beneficial for us, it is estimated that about half of the U.S. population spends none of their free-time outside, and only about 18% of Americans spend dedicated time outdoors at least once a week.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, US residents spend about 90% of their lives indoors compared to our prehistoric ancestors (and some modern hunter-gatherers) who spent the vast majority of their time outdoors hunting, gathering food, performing daily chores, and socializing with fellow tribespeople.

In colder months, our tendency to spend more time indoors in closer quarters with other people increases our exposure to pathogens which explains the seasonal uptick in the flu, and other contagious diseases. Too much time inside reduces our exposure to the sun oftentimes resulting in a vitamin D deficiency which has ramifications ranging from mood disorders, to improper nutrient absorption, to a weakened immune system. Lack of sunlight can also throw our circadian clocks off leading to the detrimental effects of poor sleep hygiene along with chronically low serotonin levels which can translate to chronic anxiety and depression.

Additionally, air quality indoors is typically between 2 and 5 times worse than outdoor air, which likely explains the link between time spent indoors and rates of asthma as well as other respiratory conditions.

And most notably, our increasing indoor-centric lifestyles correlate with a growing loneliness epidemic. I suspect this is because more time spent indoors drives us to connect with other people through virtual means such as television and social media as opposed to the random in-person encounters that used to occur more regularly with neighbors and strangers alike back in days past when people spent more time outside of their homes.

Over the centuries, our lifestyles have led to a dramatic change in our environment; from the outdoor environment consisting of sunlight, rain, and open air to the indoor environment consisting of plaster, chemically infused building materials, and artificial lighting. This change in environment appears to be harming us.

In other words, when the environment of a species dramatically and rapidly changes, that species becomes maladapted to its environment. It’s brain, body, and survival mechanisms no longer enable that species to perform optimally within that altered environment. Ironically, as humans we have voluntarily and rapidly altered our lifestyles such that we spend most of our days boxed in by the four walls of a home, stuck in a cubicle or home office, and driving around in gasoline-powered steel cages. We are now extraordinarily maladapted to this environment, and the deleterious effects of our lifestyles have become so ubiquitous that we seemingly accept them as natural aspects of the human experience.

This is why I try to make it a point to step outside for a few minutes every morning, especially in the winter. I find that starting my morning off with a healthy dose of sunlight, fresh air, the sound of birds chirping, feeling the summer heat or the winter freeze, etc. puts me in a more uplifted mood and more focused state of mind.