As a Personal Trainer, I am usually surrounded by driven people wanting to do their best in working hard in the gym for their health and fitness goals and inquiring methods they can utilize outside the gym to help reach them. The most obvious topics to bring up are diet and sleep, as they have been a part of the health and fitness conversation since we became conscious of our health. As they deserve to be in regular discussion, these areas of focus are the three pillars of ultimate health and fitness: Movement, Nutrition, and Recovery, but one of these areas remain a bit ambiguous when attempting to define it. I’m talking about recovery; most people assume if they get their eight hours of sleep, they are optimally recovered from their previous physical and mental stress. Yet when some clients (and trainers alike) get stuck in their own plateaus, whether it be not progressing in their muscle building, body fat burning, or just trying to maintain higher energy levels throughout the day, they often forget about one thing; how long have you been exposed to sunlight each day? Could your recovery, nutrition, and/or perhaps your workout quality be hindered by a lack of sunlight in your life?

Now before we assume this idea to be farfetched, let’s consider the following facts:

Photo by Carlie Williams / @carlz_louise

It is reported by the EPA that Americans on average spend “90% of their time indoors”, whereas indoor areas usually have air pollutant ratios of about 2 - 5 times higher than outdoors (1.).
The sun is also the easiest way to absorb your daily dose of Vitamin D, responsible in calcium utilization, immune functions in your body, as well as cell production and regeneration (2.).
It’s embedded in our DNA to be in sunlight for extended hours at a time for our survival and evolution.

When we forget about our ancestors’ way of life, and stay focused on our much more evolved lives with more technology and responsibility, it can be very easy to stay indoors to focus on making money, commuting, eating and sleeping indoors, neglecting opportunities to just GO OUTSIDE.

Let’s take our head out of the scientific research articles and apply a bit of practicality and common sense. I don’t know about where you live, but in San Francisco we get more fog than sunny days, and as a trainer I see a direct link between these days and peoples’ moods. During a foggy day, not only are the clients not as happy, but it takes longer for them to mentally and physically become alert during their workouts, often hindering their strength progressions and rest lengths between sets. During a foggy day, sickness also tends to spread around my small studio gym I share with other trainers and their clients. When one gets sick, there is usually a wave of at least a couple more people in the gym that become ill with the exact same symptoms, either hindering their progress or forcing them to skip days of exercise and digressing a bit. Where as on a sunny day, people are much happier, don’t really feel symptoms of fatigue or sleepiness, and almost always have an improved workout. I see direct physical benefits in the gym, but also notice improvements in life quality outside the gym as well. By just taking an hour or two from my day and going to a park or beach, either listening to music, reading, or even taking a nap (I wake up early and love my sleep!), I always feel better at the end of my day, which further improves my mood and sleep quality, even if I have to wake up at 5am the next morning (always the case).

Main point I want you to take away: just recreate going outside a priority. You can categorize it as physical recovery or mental health, either way you are performing another chore for yourself that you will ALWAYS thank yourself for later, just like working out, eating well, and getting quality sleep.

References:

GO OUTSIDE: BENEFITS OF THE SUN