15 Natural Environment

What is it?

“Animate and inanimate elements of the natural or physical environment (. . .)” (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2020).

When we take a walk outside, the natural environment is all around us.  From the grass, to the sun shining on our faces, the natural environment has so many benefits for us!

Why is it important?

Vitamin D:

Being in the natural environment helps us get sun exposure, which in turn helps us get Vitamin D. Vitamin D provides protection from chronic diseases and cancer (Raymond-Lezman & Riskin, 2023).

• Vitamin D insufficiency can lead to type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and other diseases (Zhang et al., 2020).

Light and Dark Exposure:

Light and dark exposure help keep our circadian rhythm in a normal pattern in order for our daily routines to occur as needed.

Tools You Can Use

1. Track your time spent outside

• This tracker is used as a goal to get to spending 1,000 hours outside in a year.
• You can find the mobile app on this website to download on your phone.
• There are also podcasts available to listen to!

To Learn More

Reflection

References