Turns out, the Great Outdoors is all it’s cracked up to be. Spending time out of doors offers a host of benefits to your physical and mental health. Even better news? It doesn’t take hours and hours to achieve a positive effect either.

Healthline reports that according to a 2019 study, spending at least 120 minutes per week significantly boosts health and well-being. Whether you spend two hours outdoors all at once or spend a little each day, the positive effects hold.

Here are eight key benefits to your physical and mental health:

1. Better breathing

The air is cleaner out of doors. Indoor concentrations of pollutants – which can trigger allergies, asthma, and respiratory diseases – are two to five times higher than those outside.

2. Improved sleep

Our circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock, is regulated by the sun. It helps you feel awake during daylight hours and sleepy at night. Direct sunlight does a better job than artificial light sources, offering 200 times the intensity of indoor lights.

Exposure to sunlight improves your sleep by enabling you to feel more tired at nighttime, to fall asleep faster, and to sleep more deeply.

3. Reduced depression symptoms

Exposure to sunlight can often ease depression symptoms, although experts are not entirely sure why. Some believe sunlight produces vitamin D and has a protective effect. Or it may be that improved sleep has a positive effect on depression.

Light therapy can help treat both major (or clinical) depression and seasonal depression. People who experience major depression may feel help in 2 to 5 weeks, while those suffering from seasonal depression may feel positive effects in a few days.

4. Motivation to get moving

Working out while out of doors can boost your motivation to exercise again, because it can make physical activity more interesting than in a gym, enable you to socialize with others, and feel better while you’re doing it. A 2013 study suggests people who walked outside, rather than on a treadmill, exercised at greater intensity while reporting less exertion.

5. Mental restoration

All those screens in your life take a toll, causing overstimulation and raising your stress levels without your even noticing.

In contrast, the natural world has a peaceful, restorative effect, enabling you to feel more relaxed and focused. Birdsong has been proven to lift your mood.

6. An immune system boost

You are less likely to contract airborne viruses like COVID-19 while outdoors. Not only that, it turns out a bit of dirt is good for you. Non-dangerous microorganisms naturally found outdoors can help your body prepare for more serious infections better than living in a sterile environment.

7. Protection from near-sightedness

There are studies that suggest children who spend plenty of time outside have a lower chance of becoming nearsighted. One study included over 10,000 children ages 9-11. Those who spend greater time outside were 22 percent less likely to develop myopia, or nearsightedness.

8. Improved emotional well-being

Spending time outside can alleviate stress and worry while promoting positive emotions like happiness, a sense of peace, and optimism.

Read the full article at Healthline.