How Working From Outside is Beneficial to Your Health

This post was written by Griffin Parrish, an intern at Siege Media. He's drawn on reputable sources to back up his work and what he's written for us is so inspiring.

Of course, I would also add cautions around wireless technology, and encourage everyone to connect to the internet via ethernet (cables).

Enjoy!

Lucinda

Health Benefits of Working From Outside

With an increasing number of people working from home, some are taking it to the next level by working from outside. With a variety of mental and physical health benefits, taking your work outside is a great way to improve your daily life. Whether you take your laptop to a park or work from your backyard or balcony, there are many ways to transform your work life for the better.

What Does It Mean to Work From Outside?

Working from outside (WFO) is a new trend in working from home – where you can complete your daily work outside in a natural environment. WFO is especially easy for those who already work from home. Without being tied down to a specific office building, you can easily find a place to work without being trapped indoors.

Examples of WFO locations include:

    • Coffee shops with outdoor seating
    • Parks
    • Backyards
    • Balconies
    • Pergolas, porches, patios

By working outside in nature, you can reap the benefits of being outdoors without falling behind in your job.

What Are the Benefits of Working From Outside?

In a traditional office setting, many workers spend all day stuck indoors. It is estimated that the average person spends 90% of their time inside

Spending all day sitting inside without any exposure to sunlight or fresh air can be detrimental to your mental and physical health. 

Read along to learn how swapping your indoor office for an outdoor workspace can positively impact your health and wellbeing.

Increased Energy Levels

By exposing yourself to fresh air and sunlight when WFO, you can naturally increase your energy levels. Rather than relying on stimulants like coffee or energy drinks, moving your workspace outside is a great way to naturally feel more energetic

With the natural energy you gain from working outside, you won’t have to worry about a caffeine crash later in the day.

Reduced Feelings of Anxiety

Spending time outdoors is linked to several mental health benefits. One of the major benefits of WFO is reduced feelings of stress and anxiety

Whether you take a short outdoor walk between meetings or move your computer outside for the day, being out in nature is a great way to feel calm and elevate your mood.

Decreased Exposure to Indoor Air Pollutants

In an indoor environment, air pollutants are two to five times more common than in the outdoors. 

Consistent exposure to indoor air pollution can lead to various negative health effects, including:

    • Eyes, nose, and throat irritation
    • Headaches
    • Dizziness and fatigue
    • Respiratory diseases
    • Cancer 

By WFO and limiting your time indoors, you can decrease your exposure to these harmful pollutants, therefore decreasing your risk for health issues.

plastic free

Boosted Feelings of Creativity

In addition to spending time WFO, walking outside can also lead to improved brain function. By taking short walks periodically throughout your workday, you can experience an estimated 60% increase in creativity and problem-solving skills. 

To maximise these benefits, try walking to your favorite outdoor work location instead of driving.

Increased Happiness

When trading your indoor office space for the great outdoors, you will notice an increase in your happiness levels. Even if you’re only outside for as little as 30 minutes per week, it has been proven that it can decrease your depression by 7%

With an improved mood, the workday will be more enjoyable and go by faster.

Lower Blood Pressure

In addition to increased levels of happiness, spending 30 minutes outdoors per week can also decrease your risk of high blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to many adverse health effects including:

    • Headaches
    • Vision problems
    • Fatigue
    • Heart palpitations
    • Shortness of breath

By reducing your time spent indoors, you can help decrease your risk of heart disease and other high blood pressure symptoms.

Natural Pain Relief

When compared to those who spent their time indoors, people who regularly spent time outside had reduced levels of inflammation

Rather than spending your time inside and continually reaching for pain medication, WFO can provide you with natural pain relief.

Better Cognitive Function

While WFO, you may notice yourself becoming more productive. This is no coincidence, as spending as little as an hour outside has been linked to a 20% improvement in memory and attention span. 

By WFO, you are not only improving your mental and physical health, but also your performance.

Tips For Creating an Outdoor Workspace

Now that you know all of the benefits that WFO can provide, you may be wondering how you can successfully work from your outdoor space. 

Check out this helpful infographic from Angi to learn more about how you can create a comfortable and effective WFO space.

Work From the Outdoors

Infographic by Angi.com

References

 Included directly via hyperlinks.

If you'd like more information on how to set this up safely
– avoiding hidden hazards, then book a call with Lucinda today.

Plastic-Free July (and every month)

Why Avoid Plastic?

Avoiding plastic has always been something high on my agenda.

When I was a teen and a twenty-something, it was about protecting the environment –

  • not creating waste,
  • minimising the creating of single-use items, and
  • protecting our beautiful planet (in a very general sense)

As I have gotten older, and understood more about the environment and health, it has become even more important.

Here are three really big reasons to avoid plastics.

 

1. Pollutants from Plastics

Plastic bottles and containers can leach phthalates, xenooestrogens and other pollutant into the food, personal care or cleaning product with them.

This can play havoc with our health, as they interfere with our hormones (“endocrine-disrupting chemicals”).

What is more, they can also effect other animals that are exposed to them.

 

2. Plastic Polluting

Most of us already know about the piles of plastics in the oceans that form islands…

Our PET bottles, condoms, bags, and so on, all sweep the oceans and accumulate in certain areas.

As well, very small particles can break off plastic items (including synthetic clothing) to form microplastics.

These tiny pieces are a massice problem in the environment.

 

3. Killing Wildlife

One example is seabirds.

I saw a documentary where seabirds needed humans to help them survive.

 

Parents were feeding their young plastic that they had “caught” in the oceans…

Of course, the young were not able to digest it…

So it accumulated in their stomachs.

There were three big consequences of this.

a) The presence of the plastics in stomachs of the youing birds could leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals… which might have devastating effects on the species.

b) The birds were not being nourished properly – as plastic isn't food!

c) The baby birds were heavy with all the plastic in their stomachs – which meant that as they headed out to sea, they would not be able to fly, and would then drown.

The scientists would catch the youngsters as they headed to the water…

And get them to vomit out all the plastic.

There was a surprisingly (and alarmingly) large amount of it!

By removing the plastic from their stomachs, they were being given the best chance to survive.

 

It was truly heartbreaking to see this.

So, what can you do about it?

Join the Challenge –

In my free Facebook group, we are doing a Plastic-Free Challenge.

Consider alternatives to plastic –

 

Choose Your Tactic

PlasticFreeJuly.org has compiled this great resource – download it here – then review it and choose which ones that you can action.

P.S. This is a great one to involve the kids with 😉

Time for New Habits

The end of the year is a time when we look to create new habits.

We reflect back on the year that we have had.

And decide what we would like to do differently.

Do you do that?

I do.

I love this practice and tend to do it way more often.

Here’s are 5 new habits that support health!

New Habit 1: Turn Off the Tech

Research shows that evening use of devices containing LED lights in their screens can have a large effect on our wellbeing.


Research out of Israel by Green, et al., discovered that 2-hours of evening exposure to these screens resulted in:

  • Increased waking through the night,
  • Poorer quality sleep, and
  • Suppressed melatonin production.

The effects were also seen the following day, with:

  • Increased sleepiness,
  • A decrease in the ability to concentrate, and
  • Reduced accuracy

Sleep in incredibly important not only for your mood and ability to concentrate, but also for your health and ability to tolerate environmental stressors.

So, when can you turn off the tech?

Habit #2: Easy & Breezy

Did you know that the air inside our homes can be 5-10 times more polluted than outdoors?

This is due to all sorts of reasons, from what we bring into our homes, to what our homes are made of, how we cook and what our pots and pans are made of…

And that is just for starters.

When we add pesticides, cleaning products and scented reeds into the mix, we are really cooking up a storm!

Then we’re there.

Breathing, eating, using the bathroom…

Sweating (or “perspiring” 😉 for those who don’t sweat), cooking, sleeping…

Everything we bring into our homes can affect the quality of the indoor air.

If our home is nicely energy efficient, it is very likely that it is well-sealed, keeping the indoor air in, and the outdoor air out.

This can lead to a build-up of volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, house dust mites, mould spores, combustion gases and more.

To make matters worse, if you never exchange the air in your home…

It never gets diluted.

And –

That is how the indoor air can be so much worse than the outdoor air.

Where in your day can you open your windows and doors?

eco-health-solutions-nature

Habit #3: Healing Naturally

I always see nature as our baseline…

The ideal to which we strive…

The harmony and balance of nature is so supportive and healing.

The Japanese embrace this through their practise of Shinrin Yoku – or “forest bathing.”

The idea is that you wander out into nature, ideally under a canopy of trees, and sit or lay there for at least an hour.

I see so many benefits of this…

  1. You get to breathe fresh natural air, instead of indoor air
  2. Being in nature in this way can allow you to discharge accumulated EMF – it is a form of grounding
  3. I suspect that the air you breathe is full of natural antimicrobials – let’s face it, trees survive in a forest because of their natural antimicrobials
  4. If you do this free from devices, it can be deeply relaxing, which can be incredibly healing
  5. It can help us to reconnect with nature – which traditionally we have always been well aware of

I have seen research some years ago now, that found that the benefits of one-hour of forest bathing last for 7 days.

So even if you live in the city, you should be able to carve out an hour a week to do this.

Where can you create some time to be in nature?

Habit #4: Be a Labels Sleuth

Whilst there is a lot to learn about reading labels, there is a lot you can learn by doing this.

If you took a moment to review the labels of products as you pick them off the shelf, you might be surprised at what you see.

If I could encourage you to eliminate one ingredient…

It would be fragrance (also listed as perfume or parfum).

By cutting out fragrances, you could reduce your daily chemical exposure dramatically because…

Fragrances require so many chemicals to make them!

There are loads of other ingredients you can omit, too…

But fragrances are the best place to start.

Also, some products don’t necessarily have an ingredients list…

So, this is where you can put your nose to use and have a sniff of it.

Tip: toilet paper and sanitary products are often fragranced…

Instead, you may choose to focus on an ingredient in food.

Which ingredient are you going to target?

eco-health-solutions natural

Habit #5: Need or Want?

When you are about to make a purchase, stop and think:

Do I actually need it?

If not, then consider why you want it.

The goal here is not to accumulate too much “stuff.”

Accumulating can lead to issues in terms of safety (trip-hazards), pests, dust (and house dust mites) and may even become a hygiene issue if cleaning becomes difficult.

We created a rule many years ago that you might like to adapt or adopt…

For every item that we buy, we need to pass on three to charity.

When I do this, I tend to really get into it, and often can fill a large garbage bag with goodies that would benefit from a new home.

It is surprisingly liberating to pass things on to charity…

What can you put in place, so you remember to ask, “Do I really need it?” when making a purchase?

5 New Habits

There you go – there are five new habits to propel you towards a home or workplace that supports your health.

Let me know how you go with them!

 

Would You Like More Help? Book a Hidden Hazards Hotline Call here >>

 


References:

A. Green, M. Cohen-Zion, A. Haim & Y. Dagan (2017): Evening light exposure to computer screens disrupts human sleep, biological rhythms, and attention abilities, Chronobiology International, DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2017.1324878

SAR Levels Can be Increased by Having Metal Objects in Your Pocket

SAR levels are what the authorities use to determine the safety of a mobile/cell phone. Logically, the system is a flawed one* as the levels can increase dramatically. Something that has not been taken into consideration by the decision-makers.

SAR Levels Can be Increased by Having Metal Objects in Your Pocket

Did you know…?

Research has uncovered that having metal objects in your pocket along with your phone increases your SAR exposure?

Discover how to easily almost double your SAR exposure from your mobile phone.


*It is flawed for two reasons. It is based upon the the thermal effects of a mobile phone on a plastic “bucket” filled with water. The other reason is that it does not replicate how people actually use their phones.

A mannequin is made to replicate a US armed forces personnel, called SAM. The plastic “head” is filled with water. Then the temperature of the water is measured when a mobile phone is used in proximity. This is why many of the phones state that you should not be within 2cm of the phone… Here's a fun song written and performed by Kate Corcoran.

Here's what she said in the 2016 Environmental Sensitivities Symposium e-mag:

The inspiration for “Oh Sam (What a Man)!” – came from Devra Davis’ book Disconnect. I learnt that mobile phones were not tested on humans pre-release but were tested on a test dummy and an early model was known as SAM – standard anthropomorphic mannequin. SAM had fluid in his head to represent a human brain and was 6 foot 2 inches tall – the height of the tallest 10% of military recruits to the US military in 1989. He had an 11 pound head, which somehow morphed into the hook for the song – “Oh Sam, What a man – 6 foot 2 11 inches of a man!” – a hook too good to pass up.

I wrote this song to inform people but more importantly for EHS people who are not being listened to. I hope this song will bring a smile to a face or two.