You need more sky

Aim for a little more time without a roof over your head.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good Morning.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to get outside because you probably need more
sky in your life. On a recent No Stupid Questions podcast,
the hosts discuss the statistic that.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Americans spend ninety three percent of their time indoors in
climate control, host Angela Duckworth summed that up as seven
percent sky ninety three percent roof. I think that's a
believable statistic. With family life and work, many of us
spend the vast majority of our time indoors, or at

(00:50):
least in our cars. Now, I will point out that
when you run the numbers, seven percent isn't actually all
that bad. One percent of twenty four hours is about
an hour and forty one minutes. Seven percent of one
hundred and sixty eight hours, that's the number of hours
in a week is eleven hours and forty six minutes.

(01:11):
I would guess that the average adult knowledge worker might
spend less than eleven hours and forty six minutes per
week outside, since people who work outside and children could
drive up the average. In any case, though, this is
a useful number to think about. As you ponder your
own schedule, how much of a typical week are you outside?

(01:33):
How much time do you spend walking to and from
your car or to and from the bus stop. Are
there any destinations you regularly walk or bite two? How
much time do you spend outside exercising? What about socializing?
Do you spend any time working in your yard or
sitting outside relaxing. After you figure out how much time

(01:54):
you currently spend outside, set a goal to aim for
a little bit more. For instance, if you currently spend
seven hours per week outside, you will find that that's
about four point two percent of your time. You could
set a goal to get to five percent of your
time outdoors, which would be just under eight and a

(02:15):
half hours per week. An hour and a half increase
from what you are currently getting. Spending one percent or
even two percent more of your time outside could be
an attainable goal in the short term. If that still
doesn't get you to the national average of seven percent,
meeting or even exceeding seven percent could be a long

(02:36):
term goal. Now, I will admit that outside isn't always
lovely or perfect. I remember hearing a comedian complaining about
camping once with the line that it took people a
long time to invent inside, and it's true. Air conditioning
and heat and insulated roofs are amazing and allow us

(02:57):
to think about things beyond how hot or cold it is.
That said, we sometimes go overboard with the whole inside thing.
Being outside, even in non perfect conditions, is a known
mood booster. Plus, when we are outside, we are probably
less likely to engage in activities like watching TV or

(03:19):
scrolling around on social media that are kind of low
on the happiness scale. So spending a little more time
outside is probably a good idea for most people. Not
a few chop wood for a living, but for everyone else.
If you try getting more sky, you can tell me
how you do it. You can reach me at Laura

(03:42):
at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

(04:02):
got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to

(04:24):
your favorite shows.