April 22, 2024 • 46 mins
Episode 12 embarks on an adventure of finding time to embrace the great outdoors. Our discussion is inspired by the challenge of spending 1000 hours outdoors, a task that may seem daunting but holds great significance in physical, mental, and cognitive health.
We trace our journey of becoming more outdoorsy which had inevitable struggles of juggling weather conditions and safety concerns that arise with young children. We unpack the distinction between being 'outside people' and 'outdoorsy people' and share personal experiences. We also reflect on the importance of exposing children to outdoor activities from a young age and the remarkable growth that ensues.
Learn a lesson or two as we recap some findings that underscore the extensive benefits of being outdoors. Improved cognitive functioning, enhanced physical health, and tackling mental health issues like depression and anxiety are few benefits detailed here. We also bring attention to the positive impact of vitamin D and reducing cortisol levels that manage stress in our bodies.
Find out the background and features of the "1000 Hours Outdoor Challenge"
From setting realistic outdoor goals to embracing the essence of various natural practices like Norway's 'Friluftsliv' and Japan's 'Shinrin-yoku,' this episode is a treasure trove of information on becoming more outdoorsy. If you're looking to infuse nature into your lifestyle or interested in the health benefits of outdoor activities, this episode is a must-listen.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:06):
Welcome to episode 12 of the Finding Time podcast. Today we are finding time to get outdoors.
Well, finding time to talk about getting outdoors. I thought that I would intro
this one because I kind of made Dan aware of this thousand hours outside challenge
actually right at the beginning of the new year when everybody's making goals.
(00:30):
And I was like, hey, I take the kids outside every day. I should aim for the
thousand hours outside.
And he was like, that's a lot of hours.
And I mean, he is the one better at numbers in the relationship.
So then, of course, he broke it down. And I was like, OK, maybe like five hundred.
(00:51):
Five hundred is a little bit more achievable.
I think even that is a tough target. So I think realistically,
three hundred to four 400 we probably do.
And we'll touch on this later on. But a thousand hours is an extreme amount
of hours to be outside, you know, with kids every day. And we'll walk through some examples.
But overall, when you told me about it, I really like the idea of it.
(01:15):
And I did really like the channel. Right.
And I think like right now we've said our kids are well, we have two one year olds, three and five.
Six. He just turned six. So I feel like maybe when it's like two,
three-year-olds, five and seven, it might be a little bit more doable,
(01:36):
but obviously we live in Pennsylvania.
So it's really just the winters that get us with the little babies and then
the really hot summers every now and then.
Not that we can't do it, but can we spend an hour outside in the extreme conditions
of Pennsylvania, not in the most safe way for the little ones.
(01:57):
Yeah, we're limited, like almost probably two thirds of the year,
either due to heat or snow or cold or whatever with the little ones.
So for sure. But we'll start small, you know, we'll start working up towards this.
And I think the concept behind it and the idea behind it is very.
For sure. And we don't really know anyone who's done it.
But once I saw this idea, I was like looking at things and I was actually seeing
(02:23):
some pretty good calculations like to make it actually work and even for the
people in the extreme weather.
So like I said, once we have a little bit older kids, I think I'll make that
a New Year's goal again and make it maybe like Dan said, 500 first and then a thousand next.
Let's let's just try to get to partway there
(02:44):
and then maybe we'll we'll creep our way up slowly
over the course of a couple years instead of doubling up so
yeah it's a pretty cool idea though i i liked it when you told me about it and
i was looking into it a little bit we obviously have aspirations to be more
outdoorsy i wouldn't quite call us outdoorsy as much as you would but we definitely get outside.
(03:08):
And there's a big distinction between being outside people and being outdoorsy
people, don't you think?
I would agree with that. I think that comes from like backgrounds.
Like my family was outdoorsy and you guys were just outside.
And now we're like trying to mesh the two.
(03:28):
And we definitely have our boys be outside like at a playground.
But yeah, maybe not outdoorsy, like have nothing to do and just a path to take
their course. Yeah, that's one of the extremes.
I think you give yourself too much credit. But yeah, it's something to aspire
to. I think that's all fine and good.
It was actually rooted in a lot more like educational background.
(03:52):
I think it was founded by this woman, Ginny Urich. She's an educational professional by trade.
And most of this, you know, we'll call it a movement.
If you really look at it, it's like she's a company, you know.
Know, it's mostly about education and a lot of it actually has strong ties back into homeschooling.
So they come up with all of these different curriculums and they're all kind
(04:15):
of outdoors, nature-based curriculums.
They have a podcast too, and they have a lot of really interesting guests on the podcast.
She does speaking engagements. She talks to, you know, I think she talks to
school, she talks to parent groups, you know, different foundations and all that kind of stuff.
So she's got a neat little business going here built around this whole challenge, this whole concept.
(04:38):
I know. And like I said, I did dive into it a little bit when I wanted to make
it our resolution, like me and the kids.
Not really was going to involve Dan because, well, he's at work longer than I am.
So I thought, hey, the more we can get the kids outside, side, the better.
But I just found a lot of like positive things about them being outside.
(05:02):
And really like sometimes the battle is getting especially our oldest to go
outside because he'll be like so involved with his toys or playing a game.
But then once he's outside and obviously all the little ones follow suit,
he's just like in such his element like sticks, dirt.
I mean, and their little boys, like I just find it so beneficial for them to just run.
(05:27):
No, that is true. They are kind of cooped up free range animals in a way.
So the more we can get them outside and give them space to kind of explore and
get dirty and get messy, the better off I think they are.
So that's one of the big benefits to just the whole mindset behind this.
And so, of course, Dan did some more research other than me just babbling on
(05:51):
why I think it's beneficial.
And according to UC Davis Health Center, they found three big reasons that made
being outdoors so beneficial.
The first one was it improves cognitive functioning by improving reasoning skills
and logic skills by putting your mind and body into a more relaxed state.
(06:12):
I would definitely say that's got to be true.
I mean, even just with children, you watch them go outside and you could just
see like them let go of the tension and just run like we kind of just said.
Yeah, that is kind of the basis for it. And that's that's where the whole idea
comes from is your body reacts positively for the most part to being outdoors like that.
(06:33):
And when your body is in a state like that, it actually improves your they found
it improves your cognitive functioning, your reasoning, your logic skills,
those centers of your brain actually benefit because the stress load is off of them.
They, you know, see upticks in performance, memory even I think was thrown in there.
So, you know, look at that. You get outside and you get healthier.
(06:55):
It's a shocking concept.
For sure. And I will say this isn't just for kids. It's obviously encompassing
like adults, children, everybody.
So the second one was physical benefits of being outside.
The outdoors are often associated with physical activities such as hiking, kayaking, bike riding.
And many of those things are obviously really extremely challenging for your whole body.
(07:20):
And then that in turn is an exercise.
So you're improving your cardiovascular health, your endurance,
your muscle strength, even your tension.
And then we know that exercise is linked to reducing cortisol levels.
And because you're outside, it's increasing vitamin D.
Right. If you think about those those things. And when I think about people
(07:42):
who are really outdoorsy, they generally don't look the same as someone you
may consider like traditionally athletic.
Right. Like not like a gym rat, not like, you know, someone who is into sports and weightlifting.
They look a little bit more wiry. They're solid.
They don't always come off that way. but then they can hike 15 miles in a day without issue.
(08:06):
They can carry a kayak for a mile over their head and then go out on the water
for six hours and come back.
It is such a weird whole body exercise and level of athleticism that I think
people take for granted because it really is hitting everything.
There's almost nothing. You know, when I think of outdoor activities like that,
hiking, kayaking, biking, mountain climbing in an extreme sense,
(08:29):
like, you know, there's such whole body exercises that you don't get that from typical exercise.
You don't get that from just running. You don't get that from just weightlifting.
You don't get that from just individual sports.
So I give a lot of credit to what I would call outdoors athletes because they
may not seem it at first glance, but they are freaks of nature.
(08:50):
Obviously we're sold on this, but if you're not sold and you're not athletic,
I will say you can also just read a book outside or sunbathe or watch your kids
splash in a little water table.
So you don't have to be moving to be outside, but you're still taking in that
vitamin D and you're still helping your overall immune system that way.
(09:12):
Yes. And it is important to note that I all admire outdoor athletes,
but for people like me and anyone in our camp, we just want to be outdoors and relaxing.
And there's still benefits for that. The vitamin D is a big one.
You know, you, you get healthy. It helps your immune system.
I think it can strengthen bones even. It helps with your muscle development.
(09:32):
And while I was reading on this, vitamin D exposure even helps with diabetes to a certain extent.
It helps with irritable bowel syndrome to a small degree.
It's not going to solve it, but it helps with that. And it also helps with depression.
They're finding it helps reduce, you know, the impacts of depression and prevention
in children if they get a lot of vitamin D exposure.
(09:52):
Exposure and you know this was one of those
things that you've got to do your research on
and talk to doctors and experts but it seemed that
vitamin d is one of the harder vitamins critical to your body that for whatever
reason your body just does not absorb that well through supplements and it absorbs
it very well through sun exposure so it's sort of a neat little facet of getting
(10:15):
outside has that great benefit and then you know you mentioned cortisol levels
that's more related to the physical activity,
but even just walking outside and getting your body moving and everything,
it's great for your blood pressure. It's good for inflammation.
You know, it's kind of counterintuitive and you've kind of pushed me on that
to just like take a walk outside and it helps, you know, it seems like you would
(10:36):
hurt more, but it helps with inflammation and it has a positive impact on metabolism.
Cortisol is one of those trigger words. I think that when you're like lazy and
stagnant, your cortisol levels are higher, I want to say, And when your cortisol
levels are higher than your body stores more fat and,
you know, going off of what you said about seeing the kids or even seeing people
(10:58):
just have that tension release when they're outside.
I think the cortisol is a reaction to your fight or flight response.
Like when you're tense, when you're stressed out, you know, when you're living
in that constant state of cooped up anxiety, your cortisol levels are high.
And that's, that is your, you know, your body reacting to what it thinks is a stressful situation.
(11:22):
And when your body thinks it's in a stressful situation, it stores fat because
it thinks you might never eat again.
This is going all the way back to like caveman brains, but it's just fascinating
that our brains are still wired that way.
So when you're getting outside, you're moving a lot, you're being active.
Your body thinks it's healthy. I'm in a safe environment.
My metabolism can keep up. I can burn my energy because I don't need to save
(11:44):
it to, I don't know, hide from a saber-toothed tiger in a cave.
So that's your history lesson for the day.
So obviously, it was cognitive, physical, and then I think we can all guess
the third was mental health, which Dan kind of touched on already,
just like that stress, the reduced rates of depression and anxiety.
(12:06):
And individuals with these two issues report benefits from increasing their
time outdoors specifically from this health center.
So I do think there is a lot of research done, but also it really backs up just,
you know, going outside, even when it's cold.
Yes. And that's sometimes the harder part too, is the people who are hardcore
into this is you go outside no matter what, right?
(12:29):
The benefits of outside are being outside.
And you might not get the vitamin D if the sun isn't shining as much,
but you still get those benefits if you love it.
For me, I think it'd be hard to convince me to go for a walk in the woods in
the rain and feel like I'm getting any benefits from that. But I can see the
person who's really tied it and they feel that connection to nature.
(12:51):
They love the physical exercise. Maybe they love the challenge of it.
And it's just something fun, you know, that surprised by it.
I've seen that again from like athletes.
I always think there's weirdos in football or lacrosse or something that love
like rain games. They love snow.
And I never understood those people. I like to be nice and cozy,
comfortable, but there are those people that love to do what they love doing
(13:13):
just in challenging climates or different weather.
He really does take a lot more push
to like go outside in the uncomfortable and i'll
just say as soon as we had our first son or
maybe no once we once we had two boys and they like reached you know acceptable
age to go outside i mean they're pushing us to go outside in the rain in the
(13:36):
snow in the mud in the crazy wind and i'm always the one on board and we do go outside side.
So I think like there's something to be said about just as you grow,
you like limit yourself almost or get uncomfortable with the cold and with the rain.
But I mean, I take out my three and six year old and they're almost unfazed,
(13:59):
like they just find something else to do, even in that kind of extreme weather.
Yeah, they might not do for as long if they get cold or something,
but they want to try it. They're not shying away from it. They definitely want that exposure.
I'm sure I had that once upon a time and then.
I don't know. I think you tame me into just this calm little domestic bird.
(14:22):
But you didn't come outside with me. I do now. I come outside.
I come outside more. It doesn't bother me as much. But yes, I do it more so
for them to see the enjoyment on their front.
You know, let them splash around in the rain or whatever.
And I do think some of it's environmental, too. I feel like I would be more
comfortable in that environment in a different type of setting,
(14:45):
in more of a woodsy setting, in more of like a cabin setting.
If we're on vacation on a mountain, like I kind of need the whole experience.
I don't really like being outside on our sidewalks splashing in a puddle. That is so true.
He needs like the whole shebang, even if it's not like a setting we're making,
but he needs it to like fit the picture of what we're trying to do, I guess.
(15:08):
Yeah, I need the whole vibe for me to get my head behind it.
But once it's there, then it's there.
So there you go. I just need a little bit of that environmental push.
For sure. And let's be honest, like you have three boys now,
so you're already outside a ton more and it's only going to get more.
Yes, that's why we need we need more outdoor space to to give them the room
(15:31):
to roam and dig and get dirty and do all those kinds of things, which I'm more open to,
I think, as an idea or like as a future concept than I enjoy in my own day to day life.
So we got to see how that plays out. All of a sudden, instead of living on an
acre, he wants to live on 100 acres and, you know, become outdoorsy instead
(15:53):
of just liking the outdoors.
That's right. Go big or go home. You say I have phases. This is my latest phase,
ladies and gentlemen. Note this.
So just to wrap all this up and connect the dots between the health benefits
and everything that goes into this, it's not all nonsense, I'll say.
I feel like 20, 30, 40 years ago, there was a lot of thought that like the outdoorsy
(16:17):
mentality was sort of like.
Yeah, I was going to say hippie-ish, but then again, 20, 30 years ago was the 1990s, not the 1960s.
So our timeline is a little bit off there.
But yes, that's exactly what I was thinking.
Let's say from the 60s to the 2000s in that time frame. Yeah,
(16:39):
it was like if you're outdoor, you're a tree hugger, you're a hippie,
whatever, and there wasn't much backing to it.
However, I like science and I like numbers, so there is actually backing to
this, and I find it really fascinating.
So a study from Denmark, a very large analysis from 1985 to 2003 with 900,000 participants.
(17:01):
And I don't know how many people live in Denmark, but I feel like that's half the population.
I don't know how big Denmark is, but that's a lot of people in a study.
It actually showed that children in neighborhoods with more green space available
to them and more time outdoors had a reduced risk over their course of their
life for mental health disorders and all that kind of stuff as they grew into adults,
(17:24):
which seems straightforward, but I still find fascinating.
Like you, you get outside, you have green space, you have parks,
you have playgrounds, you have yards, you have trees, you can run around and experience that.
And you wind up with less mental health disorders.
Is that the only reason for mental health disorders? Absolutely not.
There are still other biological reasons and, and environmental meaning your
(17:48):
home and your family reasons.
Reasons but there's that's still a huge number
i mean 900 000 people in a study over was that
18 years is is serious numbers to show reduced risk i didn't see how much maybe
it's a small reduction but still with mental health the way that is these days
and people looking for happiness the way that they are this is a great outlet
(18:08):
that's kind of virtually for sure i think there's like two things to this.
One is honestly, just like you said, in the 60s, maybe it was like the hippie way to be outside.
But if you go back even farther, like back to our roots kind of thing,
humans were always outside and the mental health space, I mean,
it wasn't talked about, but I don't think it was anywhere near what it is now.
(18:31):
So not that a study has been done, but connecting that is just probably undeniable,
the benefits of essentially living outside back then.
Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's easy for people nowadays.
And there's a little bit of a movement coming around to this and people kind
of accepting the mindset that.
(18:55):
We haven't built up a lot of aspects of our society in beneficial ways for mental
health and just that human function.
There is a large portion of people who would benefit from being outside.
And we can poke fun at me and joke about me, but you're right.
I think I kind of got into that cooped up, caged up mentality.
(19:18):
I get very comfortable in my house or on the couch or in those settings.
And the more you do that, the more you do just kind of settle into that setting.
Whereas if you have more green space freedom at your exposure,
your body is naturally more comfortable in that state.
I didn't even really think about this, but we were just at the Philly zoo. We were walking around.
(19:41):
It was a really nice day for, you know, a few hours and there's concrete, there's cages.
It's a structure, but like it's outdoors, right? It's all open.
There's animals everywhere.
There's grass, there's plants. answers. You do have that little bit of a connection.
And as soon as we leave there and we're driving away and all that kind of stuff,
the tension, and this is part of us just not living there, but that tension
(20:05):
of driving through and around Philadelphia almost ruins any positive health
benefits that you get from being outside.
But that feeling of being there outdoors, seeing animals and stuff,
to being cooped up in a car surrounded by 50-story buildings and a thousand people,
it's so bipolar that it didn't really cross my mind until now.
(20:28):
But those two feelings are literally what your body is battling.
I wasn't driving, so I definitely didn't feel that tension.
But I can see what you mean by that. That's a good background behind this all.
I think too, just because people are so much indoor people now,
this whole back to your roots trend really just encompasses why the thousand
(20:52):
hours outside movement is new too.
It kind of is just all connected to getting back to your roots and being outside
and getting the vitamin D and helping with mental health because the pull in
the two directions was so extreme.
And hopefully this is a trend that's going to stay that people really are not
(21:13):
going full hippie, but getting back to our roots and just seeing the benefits of being outside.
Yeah, it is. It's definitely getting pushed back. And I think a lot of people are like us.
They inhabit this weird space where they want to get, as you say,
back to their roots a little bit, a little bit more old-fashioned with some
things, but we don't want to give up all of the modern comforts that we have.
(21:37):
So there are some people that are full-on.
Indoors only, big settings, big cities, big buildings, whatever.
And they just want to be indoors and comfortable that they hate the sunshine.
They hate going outside unless it's like a pool or something like that.
There are the other end of the extreme where they just want to live outside
a thousand hours a year is nothing.
(21:59):
But then I think most of us live in the middle where we want to have a good
balance in our life. We want to get a little bit of the best of both worlds.
And part of breaking through that barrier is pushing yourself to be more comfortable in these settings.
And that's kind of what we're harping on a lot of the benefits of it today.
So the other thing I found, just because I'd love this word when I saw it, it's a Norwegian word.
(22:23):
It's friluftsliv.
Can you say that?
Friluftsliv? Friluftsliv. F-R-I-L-U-F-T-S-L-I-V. Those languages are tough.
But anyways, it shouldn't be surprising that, you know, Norway,
Sweden, Denmark and a lot of those countries are kind of leading in this mindset.
(22:45):
They have a great sort of connection to their roots in that being outdoors and all that stuff.
But this term showed up in the 1800s, so it had been around for a little while,
and it essentially translates to interacting with your natural environment,
but in a way that you are getting pleasure from being in nature and nature alone.
So the important distinction there with for Lufthaliv.
(23:08):
Is that you're not out in a field
playing soccer, you know, or you're not sitting by a pool on your phone.
Like it's not that you're outside, it's that you are in nature and nature is
actually giving you the joy and the benefits.
And again, to, I think, show that this isn't a bunch of hippie nonsense.
(23:29):
They started prescribing outdoors time in Sweden or Norway, one of those countries.
And I remember seeing that in the news and it was, you know,
kind of funny, like doctors are literally prescribing that you need outdoors time.
And they did a study, a big meta-analysis at the University of Copenhagen,
a big medical university. It's the capital of Denmark.
(23:50):
For those of you that don't know your Nordic countries. And they showed the
results were kind of mixed for physiological benefits for people who are prescribed outdoors time.
It was like an hour a day or something just in nature uninterrupted.
But what they did find is the patients who were prescribed it for psychological
benefits had a huge increase.
(24:11):
So make results on the physiological side.
Maybe it doesn't help your body or whatever as much as you think.
But the mental health rewards do seem to really be there at a scientific level.
So go ahead and look up for Lutz to live for yourself and live like a Norwegian
or Swedish person for a little bit. You'll feel better. For lutes to live.
(24:31):
It's a fun word. They also, those countries are weird because remember I showed
you, they have this policy, I don't know, tradition I'll say,
where like babies just stay outside.
And if you haven't seen this, it's the craziest thing as an American.
If you're in one of these towns or cities or whatever, and this is small town,
this is big city, and you're pushing your baby in their stroller carriage, they're bundled up.
(24:53):
They get covered winter, summer, anything. They're super warm and comfortable.
And then you just leave them outside the door. If you go into a cafe,
you leave them and everybody watches the baby.
If you get back to your house, you just leave them outside and it's on you to
pay attention. But it's it's a deeply rooted tradition there.
And it is bonkers that like it's just the way that people live, even still in 2024.
(25:18):
That is crazy. I think, though, like there's obviously no offense,
America, but a lot more to be said about those people then, because obviously
that would bring into the issue of is someone going to take my baby? Oh, big time.
I think that's where I first saw it. It kind of got some public notoriety because
an American was visiting over there and brought the carriage into a cafe,
(25:43):
like extremely concerned, like, hey, there's a baby out here.
Can somebody come help me? Or like, does anyone know whose baby this is?
And he got in trouble. They're like, don't touch our babies. The baby is sleeping.
The mommy is having some coffee. Stop messing with our babies.
So, yes, very different cultures.
But I got to say, I appreciate it. Moms, could you imagine that world?
(26:06):
Like maybe we should all move there. Just having coffee at a coffee shop and
your baby's just contently sleeping outside the door. So it's a radical idea.
OK, so do you want me to say the next term first?
Yeah, it seems like a lot of other countries are way ahead of us on this.
So go ahead. Enlighten us on the cultural benefits of getting outside. side.
(26:26):
Okay, this word is shinrin yoku?
Yep, that sounds pretty good to me. How would you say it? I think you're right, shinrin yoku.
This is a Japanese term for forest bathing.
Right. So just getting out in this is kind of the same concept,
but this is more specifically getting out in the woods, getting out in the forest.
(26:48):
For those of you who have any interest in like Japanese, you know,
ecology and geography, they have a really fascinating forest system and large
trees and fascinating stuff.
They have this crazy tree that's essentially like a giant tree trunk that grows
up big and then flattens out and then more perfectly straight trees grow up from that.
(27:12):
And that's how they harvest like a lot of their specialty lumber.
So the Japanese know what they're doing with with woods and forests.
Dan has so much random knowledge.
I was thinking of that movie with Sandra Bullock.
Is that like forest bathing when they're like in the forest doing those dances?
That's it just from the window
(27:32):
to the wall yes that one is more
rooted in they're up in alaska so either
native american or eskimo culture but it is kind of the same concept they have
a very similar idea where you respect nature you can heal by being in nature
so i don't know the term for it but similar thing and yes that is that is sort
(27:54):
of what she's doing although that is more like ceremonial.
And I don't really remember. I just remember her singing that song.
That's a fun movie. I know. I couldn't think of the name. What is the name of that movie?
The Proposal. The Proposal. See, there's like probably two or three movies I
even remember a little bit of.
And that is one of them. Okay. Anyway, so forest bathing is also called ecotherapy here.
(28:17):
We might know of it in that way.
Yeah, it's starting to crop up a little bit more locally.
And now, again, we're calling it ecotherapy and they're popping up.
Cabins and they're charging you a couple hundred dollars a night to rent a cabin
and they're doing guided therapy tours in the woods.
So, you know, go capitalism.
So basically just like retreats and there's businesses that are cropping up
(28:41):
now in the Adirondacks in New York.
There's Costa Rica areas that have this and then parts of California and even
other places around the globe are just
kind of starting these retreats or businesses that are ecotherapy and people
are paying money to go get their dose of outdoors.
(29:02):
I mean, it's great. And if you think of it kind of, again, you know,
people like me, if you want to call me an indoor cat, we might need a little bit of guidance.
Now, I think I could rent a cabin and find some space and just tell the boys
and whatever, like, listen, we're going to get out.
But if you're older, if you don't have kids and stuff, and maybe you've lived
in a city your whole life or anything like that, and you just want to get out
(29:24):
in the woods and connect, maybe it would be nice to have a guide and say,
look, this is where you're at.
I'm going to walk you out. Now, it can be intimidating in the real woods,
I'll say, like on a real hike or something.
You can get lost on the trail. The Adirondacks are, I don't know,
how many thousands of square miles.
I can see that being scary for people who aren't used to being outdoors and just want to connect.
(29:46):
And again, I'm assuming these are people who have a little bit of money and
cash to spend on a fun eco-therapy.
So different types of personalities than you or I playing with toddlers in the
dirt. So I don't remember exactly where I saw this thousand hours outside challenge.
Like I said, I found it in the new year and then brought it up to him and was
(30:07):
all for it. Now the goal is 500.
And even my tracking, I forget, but I think we're doing pretty good.
We have like an hour a day.
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Definitely an hour a day. Well, you more than me,
probably. But yeah, you guys definitely get an hour a day.
And on the point of tracking, I did want to include there are some really cool ideas.
(30:27):
Obviously, this thousand hours challenge, like I said, she has a whole business
around it. There is an app. It's super simple.
I think you literally just pull up the app, hit start. And when you're done
being outside, you hit stop and it just keeps track.
So that is very simple for you. But the other thing is,
if you go on their website and sign up for like a free newsletter letter
or something you get these templates and you remember
(30:48):
when adult coloring books were really big and there
are all those like really intricate geometric designs
with tiny little blocks and they make up like a big mosaic well they have like
tons of those and some of them are just that just like adult coloring mosaics
just shapes and stuff but there's a thousand blocks in there so you color one
(31:09):
for every hour you're outside other ones make up kind of like a puzzle they'll
make up a tree scene. They'll make up a mountain scene.
They'll make up, you know, a bunch of pine trees or something.
So, but you get these and then you can get them for your whole family, keep them at home.
And then if you go outside for an hour with the kids, you come in and tell them,
okay, you can color in one little block or triangle or whatever.
(31:29):
So I would encourage anyone, if you're interested in looking to track it with
little kids, that is like a really cool idea.
You can print them out for free and just color, you know, however many hours
you've done and see where you get throughout the year. Yeah, it's really cool.
And also like satisfying because you're essentially filling in a picture as
you get closer to the 1,000 hours.
Yeah, we should come up with like a 250 hour challenge.
(31:53):
And just completely undercut the market because I feel like more people would go for that.
I don't want a picture hanging up all year that has like 15 blocks colored in and it's only 10% done.
So maybe we can scale it down. Look at this. He doesn't think we can get the
picture colored. Set realistic goals.
Speaking of, people are setting the goal to hit 1,000 hours,
(32:18):
but even if they fall short, they are feeling overall better. Yeah, you're right.
There's a lot of testimonials from people who had tried it and everything.
And they basically said, even if you fail, you win.
And that's because even if you fall short and you get 200 hours outside,
800 hours outside, you still feel like a winner.
And I laugh to myself because hearing someone say, even if you fail,
(32:40):
you win, sounds like something losers say.
But in this context, it is right. If you spent 100 hours outdoors last year
and 200 hours outdoors this year, that's a win.
I mean, that is a good improvement. So all jokes aside, I do agree with them.
And even as we try this, even if we fail on the thousand hours,
we can feel like winners because, you know, the whole goal is to spend more
(33:01):
time outside and get the benefits of it. For sure.
And remember, it's only April. We have about an hour track today.
I'm still thinking we'll get to 500 because summer is coming.
That's why you leave the numbers to me. But OK, sure. All right.
So we kind of were saying, you know, outside challenge back to your roots,
the benefits of being outdoors.
(33:21):
And on the same type of trending topic, this whole outdoors idea actually goes
back to homeschooling families.
Because let's face it, if you are homeschooling your children,
you are definitely going outside more because one, you need it for yourself.
And two, because you're going to be able to go outside more than a school building
(33:46):
is going to be able to let out a bunch of kids. Yeah, definitely.
You know, it is good for them. We have we have actually a charter school in
our area that their their charter, their basis is ecology and sustainability.
And it's a really interesting concept.
They get outside every day, you know, multiple times a day, you know,
snow, rain, whatever. And it's, you know, like we were saying, it is good for kids.
(34:10):
It's kind of uncommon or unconventional compared to the current schooling structure, I'll say, in the US.
And this is obviously not a homeschooling episode, you know, either pro or con.
It just was interesting that that connection is there. And you can see it.
In this movement, there's a huge connection to homeschooling.
They're selling homeschool curriculums based on getting outside.
(34:32):
They support that, obviously, because like you said, if you're homeschooling
a few kids, then it is what it is. I mean, we got four kids.
If we wind up with 30 or 40 acres, we're just going to wind up homeschooling
them like a little farm bunch instead of sending them to a brick and mortar
school, I think. We're just going to go all in on that lifestyle?
(34:53):
Listen to him. First, beginning of the episode, he's an indoorsy person.
Now he's saying 30, 40 acres.
I'm sure he means I'd be homeschooling these kids.
But I will say that homeschool kids are growing at a tremendous rate.
The only thing I worry about, and Dan obviously found this research,
is that is it growing because the kids are being put in front of a computer screen?
(35:19):
Or are the instructors actually taking them outside?
You know, there could be a huge growth in homeschooling, but you don't know
what percentage of those kids are going outside to learn and do unstructured
activities versus all the virtual schooling that's popping up more so even since
COVID and who's getting homeschooled in that way.
(35:41):
Oh, yeah. No, that is very true.
And, you know, the number that I saw was in 1990, there's 275,000 homeschool kids in the US.
Now, I think this number was from 2020.
So that would be pre-COVID. But there is 3 million homeschool kids.
I mean, that is an insane growth.
But there's no way that those are all, you know, like I'm kind of joking about
(36:06):
outdoorsy on a homestead next to the woods type of homeschools.
I do think a huge amount of that is digital.
And because that type of schooling became more common, we know,
I don't think a lot, but we know a couple of people actually that left,
you know, high school or middle school, but they left high school and they just
did virtual school for the last couple of years.
(36:27):
And so I can't even fathom it.
I didn't do any kind of research on that, but I am sure that number is a huge portion of that.
However, even if that's two thirds of it, you're still seeing a growth up to
a million kids kind of just wanting some different type of education,
some unconventional learning.
(36:48):
And I do think that is people recognizing things aren't always going great.
They want to have more control over their kids.
You are a teacher who's currently not in a classroom, but you're teaching other
educators to get into the classroom.
And there's a problem. There's a shortage. You know, there's a big issue there
that everyone is recognizing.
I think this is capitalism playing out. This is supply and demand and capitalism
(37:11):
playing out, you know, on our children, which is unfortunate.
But this is the reaction. There's a demand for something else that people are
feeling, and this is filling the void and the numbers kind of speak for themselves.
So speaking of numbers, since you think it's such an easy challenge,
I did run a couple of different scenarios because doing math in my free time is apparently fun.
(37:33):
But anyways, a thousand hours over 52 weeks in a year.
Is 19 hours a week or 2.7 hours
a day call it two and a half call it three but if
you're just in somewhere where you can get outside every single day
you got to be doing two and a half to three hours every single day 30 minutes
to an hour i don't think is that difficult even an hour and a half i can definitely
(37:56):
see two hours starts to get a little tricky when like weather and even like
sunshine and stuff in the winter play into that two and a half to three hours a day is a lot lot.
But, you know, we talked about our weather here in Pennsylvania.
Kind of for a few months of the year, maybe it's nicer and you could do four hours or six hours a day.
(38:18):
And that is like a lot. The other months of the year, you still have to do like
an hour and a half all throughout the winter.
So even five months of the year, it's crap. That's still is really hard.
The way that I think it's the most feasible is you got to do four camping trips,
four day weekends every year for camping trips of four days,
you get 24 hours outside all day.
(38:40):
You're kind of cheating the system, even if you do that.
So every three months you're taking a four day camping trip.
I guess it would have to be five days to get, to get that total hours.
You still have to do about 90 minutes a day the rest of the year,
which at least that is achievable.
But you know, these are the kinds of people I think that are getting a thousand
hours and why I think we'll probably do like 300, you know, maybe 400 if I'm generous.
(39:04):
I don't see us going on any camping Although I did tell our boys that I would
take them camping at like the local campgrounds where they kind of just have
like a cabin and a field and stuff like that.
We don't have to rough it too much, but I will maybe do that with them.
And that counts as outdoor time for me. That is so funny. You didn't tell me that math.
I feel like when the babies are a little bit older, we could definitely do four
(39:26):
camping trips for four days, but it would be more like camping glamping.
So then how much of that time are you inside?
And so we'd probably have to make it like, I don't know, five or six camping trips for the year.
Yes. And I'd like to point out,
I think we've mentioned this at least on a couple of episodes already.
How many vacations have we taken in the last two or three years?
(39:48):
Okay, but we're actually outside way more when we go on vacation.
That is true, but I'm just saying, so you're gonna go from zero or one vacations
up to five or six camping trips. I'm all for it. I think it would be fun.
Let's get crazy, but yeah, I think you overestimated it.
So when we finish up and at least help some people out with some fun outdoor
(40:08):
activities that they can try with their kids, again, not everything has to be
super hardcore, but just some outdoor ideas to do with your kids.
Okay, so things you can do with your kids.
The obvious would be like playgrounds.
You can go on hikes, you can do stroller-friendly walks, camping, dance ed, also fishing.
Our oldest is getting into that now.
(40:30):
There's plenty of water activities to do when it's warm out.
So I do think like people in the warmer weather areas have an advantage over
us for sure, because then they can just, you know, the water activities, pools, lakes,
tubing, canoeing, paddle boards, boating, a bunch of things you can do when the weather is nicer.
(40:52):
But then for us in the cold areas of the world, snow play.
I mean, our boys, they really are kind of unfazed by the cold for at least the first hour.
I actually get way cold before them and want to go inside, but I just don't
say anything and bite my tongue.
Yeah, they can stay out pretty long in the cold. I'll give them credit.
They're kind of babies otherwise.
(41:12):
But if it's snowing and they're happy, they can freeze their freaking fingers
off. We said they can, you know, go out in the rain and jump in puddles.
Our boys love to collect sticks.
We can do bike rides. We do that as a family, even though it's a little bit
harder logistically now with the four, we try to make it work.
Our older two are getting into scooters. They can ride their scooters.
(41:37):
Obviously sports. I mean, with our oldest now in a sport, he's getting the time
outside after school two to three days a week. And then the weekends there's
games, sometimes two or three games. So that's a lot in itself.
And all the rest of his family, meaning me and the younger ones are there spectating him.
(41:57):
And honestly, I would say like yard work or chores outside.
They are so young right now, but I keep like crossing my fingers for there's
got to be a reason we had all these boys because I do not like yard work and have to do it.
So I'm just like, in a couple of years, they're all going to be helping me and
(42:17):
then they're all going to be taking over.
Yes, they will. I think it's helpful to, you know, not forget,
just get outside and do some yard work. And it's exhausting,
but it feels good in a lot of ways.
And that's sort of that outdoor exposure. So that's a positive and get your kids used to doing it.
I got some weird looks, I think, from the neighbors, but we had our oldest using
(42:38):
the weed trimmer last year.
And the safety guard was on. He wore goggles.
He shortened the handle so he could swing it. But he actually loved that.
And so once a month, twice a month, he would come outside and cut down some
weeds, trim around the curds and the dragways and stuff.
So all that is good work. Let them get outside and have some fun.
And ever since we've been trying this challenge, again, Dan has us at 300 to
(43:01):
400. I'm definitely going to say we're going to get to 500 at least.
I've been taking a lot of inside activities with them and bringing them outdoors.
Like we'll paint rocks on the table outside or we actually were just building a chicken coop.
It was like a gingerbread chicken coop, I should say. But we brought that outside to do.
(43:23):
And there's plenty of like those hands-on activities that, you know,
it's actually a benefit to you as a parent because it makes less of a mess if
it's outside. We've been really trying to bring those things outside,
especially now in the spring when the weather's getting nice.
And then it gives us 30 to 60 minutes outside to track down.
(43:44):
Yeah, that is a great idea. It's just take something you would do inside, take it outside.
I do want to share a video on this, and maybe we'll do something on fun kids' activities.
But another great idea, if you have toddlers, is to give them the safety scissors
that they can cut paper and stuff with. and just let them cut grass.
I saw it last summer and I let them try it. And I did not think they would get
(44:07):
like as hooked as they did.
And they love it. Like a morning, a nice sunny morning or like a weekend,
they just want their scissors.
They just want their scissors and they go out and they cut some grass.
Now, eventually they'll get bored and look for other things to cut.
So you got to keep an eye on them, but it is so funny that they are just so
content, tent, like sitting, kneeling in the grass and just cutting things down.
(44:30):
So there's another tip for you. Give them some safety scissors, let them cut some grass.
If you are a dad, I don't know how many dads in our boat that may listen to
this, but if you're looking for some great ways to get outdoors after everyone
gets to bed in the summer,
when it's a little nice and sunny out, you can sit on the deck and smoke a cigar
and no one will complain about the snow.
(44:51):
You can enjoy some music or a book or whatever.
That's like the 40 minutes of enjoyable freedom in the quiet that you get without
having to bother anyone.
We usually do a bonfire and then everyone else but Dan goes inside because let's
face it, nobody else wants to smell that.
That's right. So that is a once in a while treat. But hey, look,
(45:14):
dads need their outdoor times too. I don't get as much as you during the day.
That's true. So if you're going to track with us, you'll get the 300.
We'll get the five. That is fine by me.
All right. So let us know if you try this challenge.
I mean, we started in January, but you can technically start it whenever and
then obviously track it for a year.
(45:35):
Yeah, it doesn't really have to be January. I think you saw it right around
New Year's because it's like a resolution thing. But, you know, that's the fun part.
Do whatever you want. Track it summer to summer, winter to winter, whatever you got to do.
Let us know how you do. Let us know your ideas that you might have or things that you're trying.
And we'd love to see how everyone is holding up. Oh my goodness, I have one more tip.
Oh boy. This kept the boys outside
(45:56):
last summer so long. We weren't tracking, so we have to do it again.
Remember, we bought them like the loudest laser guns in the world.
They were obsessed with them or they are still obsessed with them.
So they wanted to play with them like four or five times a day.
And we said, all right, on the deck.
Yes, that's right. Right. They were they're just like dollar store little laser guns.
(46:18):
Again, I cannot stress how like cheap and simple these toys were.
They're like the size of their hands. They're white with like a blue light and
a red light and a little trigger.
And they made the most obnoxious, high pitched, annoying squeal when they pulled
that trigger and the lights flash and they loved them.
And they were absolutely not indoor toys. we have to get more if the sound doesn't
(46:42):
work but we are apologizing to any neighbors listening to this too yeah they're
not going to like how many hours we spent out with that but yes find something
annoying for your kids and then turn it into an outdoor activity there you go there you go see ya bye.
Music.
(00:06):
Welcome to episode 12 of the Finding Time podcast. Today we are finding time to get outdoors.
Well, finding time to talk about getting outdoors. I thought that I would intro
this one because I kind of made Dan aware of this thousand hours outside challenge
actually right at the beginning of the new year when everybody's making goals.
(00:30):
And I was like, hey, I take the kids outside every day. I should aim for the
thousand hours outside.
And he was like, that's a lot of hours.
And I mean, he is the one better at numbers in the relationship.
So then, of course, he broke it down. And I was like, OK, maybe like five hundred.
(00:51):
Five hundred is a little bit more achievable.
I think even that is a tough target. So I think realistically,
three hundred to four 400 we probably do.
And we'll touch on this later on. But a thousand hours is an extreme amount
of hours to be outside, you know, with kids every day. And we'll walk through some examples.
But overall, when you told me about it, I really like the idea of it.
(01:15):
And I did really like the channel. Right.
And I think like right now we've said our kids are well, we have two one year olds, three and five.
Six. He just turned six. So I feel like maybe when it's like two,
three-year-olds, five and seven, it might be a little bit more doable,
(01:36):
but obviously we live in Pennsylvania.
So it's really just the winters that get us with the little babies and then
the really hot summers every now and then.
Not that we can't do it, but can we spend an hour outside in the extreme conditions
of Pennsylvania, not in the most safe way for the little ones.
(01:57):
Yeah, we're limited, like almost probably two thirds of the year,
either due to heat or snow or cold or whatever with the little ones.
So for sure. But we'll start small, you know, we'll start working up towards this.
And I think the concept behind it and the idea behind it is very.
For sure. And we don't really know anyone who's done it.
But once I saw this idea, I was like looking at things and I was actually seeing
(02:23):
some pretty good calculations like to make it actually work and even for the
people in the extreme weather.
So like I said, once we have a little bit older kids, I think I'll make that
a New Year's goal again and make it maybe like Dan said, 500 first and then a thousand next.
Let's let's just try to get to partway there
(02:44):
and then maybe we'll we'll creep our way up slowly
over the course of a couple years instead of doubling up so
yeah it's a pretty cool idea though i i liked it when you told me about it and
i was looking into it a little bit we obviously have aspirations to be more
outdoorsy i wouldn't quite call us outdoorsy as much as you would but we definitely get outside.
(03:08):
And there's a big distinction between being outside people and being outdoorsy
people, don't you think?
I would agree with that. I think that comes from like backgrounds.
Like my family was outdoorsy and you guys were just outside.
And now we're like trying to mesh the two.
(03:28):
And we definitely have our boys be outside like at a playground.
But yeah, maybe not outdoorsy, like have nothing to do and just a path to take
their course. Yeah, that's one of the extremes.
I think you give yourself too much credit. But yeah, it's something to aspire
to. I think that's all fine and good.
It was actually rooted in a lot more like educational background.
(03:52):
I think it was founded by this woman, Ginny Urich. She's an educational professional by trade.
And most of this, you know, we'll call it a movement.
If you really look at it, it's like she's a company, you know.
Know, it's mostly about education and a lot of it actually has strong ties back into homeschooling.
So they come up with all of these different curriculums and they're all kind
(04:15):
of outdoors, nature-based curriculums.
They have a podcast too, and they have a lot of really interesting guests on the podcast.
She does speaking engagements. She talks to, you know, I think she talks to
school, she talks to parent groups, you know, different foundations and all that kind of stuff.
So she's got a neat little business going here built around this whole challenge, this whole concept.
(04:38):
I know. And like I said, I did dive into it a little bit when I wanted to make
it our resolution, like me and the kids.
Not really was going to involve Dan because, well, he's at work longer than I am.
So I thought, hey, the more we can get the kids outside, side, the better.
But I just found a lot of like positive things about them being outside.
(05:02):
And really like sometimes the battle is getting especially our oldest to go
outside because he'll be like so involved with his toys or playing a game.
But then once he's outside and obviously all the little ones follow suit,
he's just like in such his element like sticks, dirt.
I mean, and their little boys, like I just find it so beneficial for them to just run.
(05:27):
No, that is true. They are kind of cooped up free range animals in a way.
So the more we can get them outside and give them space to kind of explore and
get dirty and get messy, the better off I think they are.
So that's one of the big benefits to just the whole mindset behind this.
And so, of course, Dan did some more research other than me just babbling on
(05:51):
why I think it's beneficial.
And according to UC Davis Health Center, they found three big reasons that made
being outdoors so beneficial.
The first one was it improves cognitive functioning by improving reasoning skills
and logic skills by putting your mind and body into a more relaxed state.
(06:12):
I would definitely say that's got to be true.
I mean, even just with children, you watch them go outside and you could just
see like them let go of the tension and just run like we kind of just said.
Yeah, that is kind of the basis for it. And that's that's where the whole idea
comes from is your body reacts positively for the most part to being outdoors like that.
(06:33):
And when your body is in a state like that, it actually improves your they found
it improves your cognitive functioning, your reasoning, your logic skills,
those centers of your brain actually benefit because the stress load is off of them.
They, you know, see upticks in performance, memory even I think was thrown in there.
So, you know, look at that. You get outside and you get healthier.
(06:55):
It's a shocking concept.
For sure. And I will say this isn't just for kids. It's obviously encompassing
like adults, children, everybody.
So the second one was physical benefits of being outside.
The outdoors are often associated with physical activities such as hiking, kayaking, bike riding.
And many of those things are obviously really extremely challenging for your whole body.
(07:20):
And then that in turn is an exercise.
So you're improving your cardiovascular health, your endurance,
your muscle strength, even your tension.
And then we know that exercise is linked to reducing cortisol levels.
And because you're outside, it's increasing vitamin D.
Right. If you think about those those things. And when I think about people
(07:42):
who are really outdoorsy, they generally don't look the same as someone you
may consider like traditionally athletic.
Right. Like not like a gym rat, not like, you know, someone who is into sports and weightlifting.
They look a little bit more wiry. They're solid.
They don't always come off that way. but then they can hike 15 miles in a day without issue.
(08:06):
They can carry a kayak for a mile over their head and then go out on the water
for six hours and come back.
It is such a weird whole body exercise and level of athleticism that I think
people take for granted because it really is hitting everything.
There's almost nothing. You know, when I think of outdoor activities like that,
hiking, kayaking, biking, mountain climbing in an extreme sense,
(08:29):
like, you know, there's such whole body exercises that you don't get that from typical exercise.
You don't get that from just running. You don't get that from just weightlifting.
You don't get that from just individual sports.
So I give a lot of credit to what I would call outdoors athletes because they
may not seem it at first glance, but they are freaks of nature.
(08:50):
Obviously we're sold on this, but if you're not sold and you're not athletic,
I will say you can also just read a book outside or sunbathe or watch your kids
splash in a little water table.
So you don't have to be moving to be outside, but you're still taking in that
vitamin D and you're still helping your overall immune system that way.
(09:12):
Yes. And it is important to note that I all admire outdoor athletes,
but for people like me and anyone in our camp, we just want to be outdoors and relaxing.
And there's still benefits for that. The vitamin D is a big one.
You know, you, you get healthy. It helps your immune system.
I think it can strengthen bones even. It helps with your muscle development.
(09:32):
And while I was reading on this, vitamin D exposure even helps with diabetes to a certain extent.
It helps with irritable bowel syndrome to a small degree.
It's not going to solve it, but it helps with that. And it also helps with depression.
They're finding it helps reduce, you know, the impacts of depression and prevention
in children if they get a lot of vitamin D exposure.
(09:52):
Exposure and you know this was one of those
things that you've got to do your research on
and talk to doctors and experts but it seemed that
vitamin d is one of the harder vitamins critical to your body that for whatever
reason your body just does not absorb that well through supplements and it absorbs
it very well through sun exposure so it's sort of a neat little facet of getting
(10:15):
outside has that great benefit and then you know you mentioned cortisol levels
that's more related to the physical activity,
but even just walking outside and getting your body moving and everything,
it's great for your blood pressure. It's good for inflammation.
You know, it's kind of counterintuitive and you've kind of pushed me on that
to just like take a walk outside and it helps, you know, it seems like you would
(10:36):
hurt more, but it helps with inflammation and it has a positive impact on metabolism.
Cortisol is one of those trigger words. I think that when you're like lazy and
stagnant, your cortisol levels are higher, I want to say, And when your cortisol
levels are higher than your body stores more fat and,
you know, going off of what you said about seeing the kids or even seeing people
(10:58):
just have that tension release when they're outside.
I think the cortisol is a reaction to your fight or flight response.
Like when you're tense, when you're stressed out, you know, when you're living
in that constant state of cooped up anxiety, your cortisol levels are high.
And that's, that is your, you know, your body reacting to what it thinks is a stressful situation.
(11:22):
And when your body thinks it's in a stressful situation, it stores fat because
it thinks you might never eat again.
This is going all the way back to like caveman brains, but it's just fascinating
that our brains are still wired that way.
So when you're getting outside, you're moving a lot, you're being active.
Your body thinks it's healthy. I'm in a safe environment.
My metabolism can keep up. I can burn my energy because I don't need to save
(11:44):
it to, I don't know, hide from a saber-toothed tiger in a cave.
So that's your history lesson for the day.
So obviously, it was cognitive, physical, and then I think we can all guess
the third was mental health, which Dan kind of touched on already,
just like that stress, the reduced rates of depression and anxiety.
(12:06):
And individuals with these two issues report benefits from increasing their
time outdoors specifically from this health center.
So I do think there is a lot of research done, but also it really backs up just,
you know, going outside, even when it's cold.
Yes. And that's sometimes the harder part too, is the people who are hardcore
into this is you go outside no matter what, right?
(12:29):
The benefits of outside are being outside.
And you might not get the vitamin D if the sun isn't shining as much,
but you still get those benefits if you love it.
For me, I think it'd be hard to convince me to go for a walk in the woods in
the rain and feel like I'm getting any benefits from that. But I can see the
person who's really tied it and they feel that connection to nature.
(12:51):
They love the physical exercise. Maybe they love the challenge of it.
And it's just something fun, you know, that surprised by it.
I've seen that again from like athletes.
I always think there's weirdos in football or lacrosse or something that love
like rain games. They love snow.
And I never understood those people. I like to be nice and cozy,
comfortable, but there are those people that love to do what they love doing
(13:13):
just in challenging climates or different weather.
He really does take a lot more push
to like go outside in the uncomfortable and i'll
just say as soon as we had our first son or
maybe no once we once we had two boys and they like reached you know acceptable
age to go outside i mean they're pushing us to go outside in the rain in the
(13:36):
snow in the mud in the crazy wind and i'm always the one on board and we do go outside side.
So I think like there's something to be said about just as you grow,
you like limit yourself almost or get uncomfortable with the cold and with the rain.
But I mean, I take out my three and six year old and they're almost unfazed,
(13:59):
like they just find something else to do, even in that kind of extreme weather.
Yeah, they might not do for as long if they get cold or something,
but they want to try it. They're not shying away from it. They definitely want that exposure.
I'm sure I had that once upon a time and then.
I don't know. I think you tame me into just this calm little domestic bird.
(14:22):
But you didn't come outside with me. I do now. I come outside.
I come outside more. It doesn't bother me as much. But yes, I do it more so
for them to see the enjoyment on their front.
You know, let them splash around in the rain or whatever.
And I do think some of it's environmental, too. I feel like I would be more
comfortable in that environment in a different type of setting,
(14:45):
in more of a woodsy setting, in more of like a cabin setting.
If we're on vacation on a mountain, like I kind of need the whole experience.
I don't really like being outside on our sidewalks splashing in a puddle. That is so true.
He needs like the whole shebang, even if it's not like a setting we're making,
but he needs it to like fit the picture of what we're trying to do, I guess.
(15:08):
Yeah, I need the whole vibe for me to get my head behind it.
But once it's there, then it's there.
So there you go. I just need a little bit of that environmental push.
For sure. And let's be honest, like you have three boys now,
so you're already outside a ton more and it's only going to get more.
Yes, that's why we need we need more outdoor space to to give them the room
(15:31):
to roam and dig and get dirty and do all those kinds of things, which I'm more open to,
I think, as an idea or like as a future concept than I enjoy in my own day to day life.
So we got to see how that plays out. All of a sudden, instead of living on an
acre, he wants to live on 100 acres and, you know, become outdoorsy instead
(15:53):
of just liking the outdoors.
That's right. Go big or go home. You say I have phases. This is my latest phase,
ladies and gentlemen. Note this.
So just to wrap all this up and connect the dots between the health benefits
and everything that goes into this, it's not all nonsense, I'll say.
I feel like 20, 30, 40 years ago, there was a lot of thought that like the outdoorsy
(16:17):
mentality was sort of like.
Yeah, I was going to say hippie-ish, but then again, 20, 30 years ago was the 1990s, not the 1960s.
So our timeline is a little bit off there.
But yes, that's exactly what I was thinking.
Let's say from the 60s to the 2000s in that time frame. Yeah,
(16:39):
it was like if you're outdoor, you're a tree hugger, you're a hippie,
whatever, and there wasn't much backing to it.
However, I like science and I like numbers, so there is actually backing to
this, and I find it really fascinating.
So a study from Denmark, a very large analysis from 1985 to 2003 with 900,000 participants.
(17:01):
And I don't know how many people live in Denmark, but I feel like that's half the population.
I don't know how big Denmark is, but that's a lot of people in a study.
It actually showed that children in neighborhoods with more green space available
to them and more time outdoors had a reduced risk over their course of their
life for mental health disorders and all that kind of stuff as they grew into adults,
(17:24):
which seems straightforward, but I still find fascinating.
Like you, you get outside, you have green space, you have parks,
you have playgrounds, you have yards, you have trees, you can run around and experience that.
And you wind up with less mental health disorders.
Is that the only reason for mental health disorders? Absolutely not.
There are still other biological reasons and, and environmental meaning your
(17:48):
home and your family reasons.
Reasons but there's that's still a huge number
i mean 900 000 people in a study over was that
18 years is is serious numbers to show reduced risk i didn't see how much maybe
it's a small reduction but still with mental health the way that is these days
and people looking for happiness the way that they are this is a great outlet
(18:08):
that's kind of virtually for sure i think there's like two things to this.
One is honestly, just like you said, in the 60s, maybe it was like the hippie way to be outside.
But if you go back even farther, like back to our roots kind of thing,
humans were always outside and the mental health space, I mean,
it wasn't talked about, but I don't think it was anywhere near what it is now.
(18:31):
So not that a study has been done, but connecting that is just probably undeniable,
the benefits of essentially living outside back then.
Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's easy for people nowadays.
And there's a little bit of a movement coming around to this and people kind
of accepting the mindset that.
(18:55):
We haven't built up a lot of aspects of our society in beneficial ways for mental
health and just that human function.
There is a large portion of people who would benefit from being outside.
And we can poke fun at me and joke about me, but you're right.
I think I kind of got into that cooped up, caged up mentality.
(19:18):
I get very comfortable in my house or on the couch or in those settings.
And the more you do that, the more you do just kind of settle into that setting.
Whereas if you have more green space freedom at your exposure,
your body is naturally more comfortable in that state.
I didn't even really think about this, but we were just at the Philly zoo. We were walking around.
(19:41):
It was a really nice day for, you know, a few hours and there's concrete, there's cages.
It's a structure, but like it's outdoors, right? It's all open.
There's animals everywhere.
There's grass, there's plants. answers. You do have that little bit of a connection.
And as soon as we leave there and we're driving away and all that kind of stuff,
the tension, and this is part of us just not living there, but that tension
(20:05):
of driving through and around Philadelphia almost ruins any positive health
benefits that you get from being outside.
But that feeling of being there outdoors, seeing animals and stuff,
to being cooped up in a car surrounded by 50-story buildings and a thousand people,
it's so bipolar that it didn't really cross my mind until now.
(20:28):
But those two feelings are literally what your body is battling.
I wasn't driving, so I definitely didn't feel that tension.
But I can see what you mean by that. That's a good background behind this all.
I think too, just because people are so much indoor people now,
this whole back to your roots trend really just encompasses why the thousand
(20:52):
hours outside movement is new too.
It kind of is just all connected to getting back to your roots and being outside
and getting the vitamin D and helping with mental health because the pull in
the two directions was so extreme.
And hopefully this is a trend that's going to stay that people really are not
(21:13):
going full hippie, but getting back to our roots and just seeing the benefits of being outside.
Yeah, it is. It's definitely getting pushed back. And I think a lot of people are like us.
They inhabit this weird space where they want to get, as you say,
back to their roots a little bit, a little bit more old-fashioned with some
things, but we don't want to give up all of the modern comforts that we have.
(21:37):
So there are some people that are full-on.
Indoors only, big settings, big cities, big buildings, whatever.
And they just want to be indoors and comfortable that they hate the sunshine.
They hate going outside unless it's like a pool or something like that.
There are the other end of the extreme where they just want to live outside
a thousand hours a year is nothing.
(21:59):
But then I think most of us live in the middle where we want to have a good
balance in our life. We want to get a little bit of the best of both worlds.
And part of breaking through that barrier is pushing yourself to be more comfortable in these settings.
And that's kind of what we're harping on a lot of the benefits of it today.
So the other thing I found, just because I'd love this word when I saw it, it's a Norwegian word.
(22:23):
It's friluftsliv.
Can you say that?
Friluftsliv? Friluftsliv. F-R-I-L-U-F-T-S-L-I-V. Those languages are tough.
But anyways, it shouldn't be surprising that, you know, Norway,
Sweden, Denmark and a lot of those countries are kind of leading in this mindset.
(22:45):
They have a great sort of connection to their roots in that being outdoors and all that stuff.
But this term showed up in the 1800s, so it had been around for a little while,
and it essentially translates to interacting with your natural environment,
but in a way that you are getting pleasure from being in nature and nature alone.
So the important distinction there with for Lufthaliv.
(23:08):
Is that you're not out in a field
playing soccer, you know, or you're not sitting by a pool on your phone.
Like it's not that you're outside, it's that you are in nature and nature is
actually giving you the joy and the benefits.
And again, to, I think, show that this isn't a bunch of hippie nonsense.
(23:29):
They started prescribing outdoors time in Sweden or Norway, one of those countries.
And I remember seeing that in the news and it was, you know,
kind of funny, like doctors are literally prescribing that you need outdoors time.
And they did a study, a big meta-analysis at the University of Copenhagen,
a big medical university. It's the capital of Denmark.
(23:50):
For those of you that don't know your Nordic countries. And they showed the
results were kind of mixed for physiological benefits for people who are prescribed outdoors time.
It was like an hour a day or something just in nature uninterrupted.
But what they did find is the patients who were prescribed it for psychological
benefits had a huge increase.
(24:11):
So make results on the physiological side.
Maybe it doesn't help your body or whatever as much as you think.
But the mental health rewards do seem to really be there at a scientific level.
So go ahead and look up for Lutz to live for yourself and live like a Norwegian
or Swedish person for a little bit. You'll feel better. For lutes to live.
(24:31):
It's a fun word. They also, those countries are weird because remember I showed
you, they have this policy, I don't know, tradition I'll say,
where like babies just stay outside.
And if you haven't seen this, it's the craziest thing as an American.
If you're in one of these towns or cities or whatever, and this is small town,
this is big city, and you're pushing your baby in their stroller carriage, they're bundled up.
(24:53):
They get covered winter, summer, anything. They're super warm and comfortable.
And then you just leave them outside the door. If you go into a cafe,
you leave them and everybody watches the baby.
If you get back to your house, you just leave them outside and it's on you to
pay attention. But it's it's a deeply rooted tradition there.
And it is bonkers that like it's just the way that people live, even still in 2024.
(25:18):
That is crazy. I think, though, like there's obviously no offense,
America, but a lot more to be said about those people then, because obviously
that would bring into the issue of is someone going to take my baby? Oh, big time.
I think that's where I first saw it. It kind of got some public notoriety because
an American was visiting over there and brought the carriage into a cafe,
(25:43):
like extremely concerned, like, hey, there's a baby out here.
Can somebody come help me? Or like, does anyone know whose baby this is?
And he got in trouble. They're like, don't touch our babies. The baby is sleeping.
The mommy is having some coffee. Stop messing with our babies.
So, yes, very different cultures.
But I got to say, I appreciate it. Moms, could you imagine that world?
(26:06):
Like maybe we should all move there. Just having coffee at a coffee shop and
your baby's just contently sleeping outside the door. So it's a radical idea.
OK, so do you want me to say the next term first?
Yeah, it seems like a lot of other countries are way ahead of us on this.
So go ahead. Enlighten us on the cultural benefits of getting outside. side.
(26:26):
Okay, this word is shinrin yoku?
Yep, that sounds pretty good to me. How would you say it? I think you're right, shinrin yoku.
This is a Japanese term for forest bathing.
Right. So just getting out in this is kind of the same concept,
but this is more specifically getting out in the woods, getting out in the forest.
(26:48):
For those of you who have any interest in like Japanese, you know,
ecology and geography, they have a really fascinating forest system and large
trees and fascinating stuff.
They have this crazy tree that's essentially like a giant tree trunk that grows
up big and then flattens out and then more perfectly straight trees grow up from that.
(27:12):
And that's how they harvest like a lot of their specialty lumber.
So the Japanese know what they're doing with with woods and forests.
Dan has so much random knowledge.
I was thinking of that movie with Sandra Bullock.
Is that like forest bathing when they're like in the forest doing those dances?
That's it just from the window
(27:32):
to the wall yes that one is more
rooted in they're up in alaska so either
native american or eskimo culture but it is kind of the same concept they have
a very similar idea where you respect nature you can heal by being in nature
so i don't know the term for it but similar thing and yes that is that is sort
(27:54):
of what she's doing although that is more like ceremonial.
And I don't really remember. I just remember her singing that song.
That's a fun movie. I know. I couldn't think of the name. What is the name of that movie?
The Proposal. The Proposal. See, there's like probably two or three movies I
even remember a little bit of.
And that is one of them. Okay. Anyway, so forest bathing is also called ecotherapy here.
(28:17):
We might know of it in that way.
Yeah, it's starting to crop up a little bit more locally.
And now, again, we're calling it ecotherapy and they're popping up.
Cabins and they're charging you a couple hundred dollars a night to rent a cabin
and they're doing guided therapy tours in the woods.
So, you know, go capitalism.
So basically just like retreats and there's businesses that are cropping up
(28:41):
now in the Adirondacks in New York.
There's Costa Rica areas that have this and then parts of California and even
other places around the globe are just
kind of starting these retreats or businesses that are ecotherapy and people
are paying money to go get their dose of outdoors.
(29:02):
I mean, it's great. And if you think of it kind of, again, you know,
people like me, if you want to call me an indoor cat, we might need a little bit of guidance.
Now, I think I could rent a cabin and find some space and just tell the boys
and whatever, like, listen, we're going to get out.
But if you're older, if you don't have kids and stuff, and maybe you've lived
in a city your whole life or anything like that, and you just want to get out
(29:24):
in the woods and connect, maybe it would be nice to have a guide and say,
look, this is where you're at.
I'm going to walk you out. Now, it can be intimidating in the real woods,
I'll say, like on a real hike or something.
You can get lost on the trail. The Adirondacks are, I don't know,
how many thousands of square miles.
I can see that being scary for people who aren't used to being outdoors and just want to connect.
(29:46):
And again, I'm assuming these are people who have a little bit of money and
cash to spend on a fun eco-therapy.
So different types of personalities than you or I playing with toddlers in the
dirt. So I don't remember exactly where I saw this thousand hours outside challenge.
Like I said, I found it in the new year and then brought it up to him and was
(30:07):
all for it. Now the goal is 500.
And even my tracking, I forget, but I think we're doing pretty good.
We have like an hour a day.
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Definitely an hour a day. Well, you more than me,
probably. But yeah, you guys definitely get an hour a day.
And on the point of tracking, I did want to include there are some really cool ideas.
(30:27):
Obviously, this thousand hours challenge, like I said, she has a whole business
around it. There is an app. It's super simple.
I think you literally just pull up the app, hit start. And when you're done
being outside, you hit stop and it just keeps track.
So that is very simple for you. But the other thing is,
if you go on their website and sign up for like a free newsletter letter
or something you get these templates and you remember
(30:48):
when adult coloring books were really big and there
are all those like really intricate geometric designs
with tiny little blocks and they make up like a big mosaic well they have like
tons of those and some of them are just that just like adult coloring mosaics
just shapes and stuff but there's a thousand blocks in there so you color one
(31:09):
for every hour you're outside other ones make up kind of like a puzzle they'll
make up a tree scene. They'll make up a mountain scene.
They'll make up, you know, a bunch of pine trees or something.
So, but you get these and then you can get them for your whole family, keep them at home.
And then if you go outside for an hour with the kids, you come in and tell them,
okay, you can color in one little block or triangle or whatever.
(31:29):
So I would encourage anyone, if you're interested in looking to track it with
little kids, that is like a really cool idea.
You can print them out for free and just color, you know, however many hours
you've done and see where you get throughout the year. Yeah, it's really cool.
And also like satisfying because you're essentially filling in a picture as
you get closer to the 1,000 hours.
Yeah, we should come up with like a 250 hour challenge.
(31:53):
And just completely undercut the market because I feel like more people would go for that.
I don't want a picture hanging up all year that has like 15 blocks colored in and it's only 10% done.
So maybe we can scale it down. Look at this. He doesn't think we can get the
picture colored. Set realistic goals.
Speaking of, people are setting the goal to hit 1,000 hours,
(32:18):
but even if they fall short, they are feeling overall better. Yeah, you're right.
There's a lot of testimonials from people who had tried it and everything.
And they basically said, even if you fail, you win.
And that's because even if you fall short and you get 200 hours outside,
800 hours outside, you still feel like a winner.
And I laugh to myself because hearing someone say, even if you fail,
(32:40):
you win, sounds like something losers say.
But in this context, it is right. If you spent 100 hours outdoors last year
and 200 hours outdoors this year, that's a win.
I mean, that is a good improvement. So all jokes aside, I do agree with them.
And even as we try this, even if we fail on the thousand hours,
we can feel like winners because, you know, the whole goal is to spend more
(33:01):
time outside and get the benefits of it. For sure.
And remember, it's only April. We have about an hour track today.
I'm still thinking we'll get to 500 because summer is coming.
That's why you leave the numbers to me. But OK, sure. All right.
So we kind of were saying, you know, outside challenge back to your roots,
the benefits of being outdoors.
(33:21):
And on the same type of trending topic, this whole outdoors idea actually goes
back to homeschooling families.
Because let's face it, if you are homeschooling your children,
you are definitely going outside more because one, you need it for yourself.
And two, because you're going to be able to go outside more than a school building
(33:46):
is going to be able to let out a bunch of kids. Yeah, definitely.
You know, it is good for them. We have we have actually a charter school in
our area that their their charter, their basis is ecology and sustainability.
And it's a really interesting concept.
They get outside every day, you know, multiple times a day, you know,
snow, rain, whatever. And it's, you know, like we were saying, it is good for kids.
(34:10):
It's kind of uncommon or unconventional compared to the current schooling structure, I'll say, in the US.
And this is obviously not a homeschooling episode, you know, either pro or con.
It just was interesting that that connection is there. And you can see it.
In this movement, there's a huge connection to homeschooling.
They're selling homeschool curriculums based on getting outside.
(34:32):
They support that, obviously, because like you said, if you're homeschooling
a few kids, then it is what it is. I mean, we got four kids.
If we wind up with 30 or 40 acres, we're just going to wind up homeschooling
them like a little farm bunch instead of sending them to a brick and mortar
school, I think. We're just going to go all in on that lifestyle?
(34:53):
Listen to him. First, beginning of the episode, he's an indoorsy person.
Now he's saying 30, 40 acres.
I'm sure he means I'd be homeschooling these kids.
But I will say that homeschool kids are growing at a tremendous rate.
The only thing I worry about, and Dan obviously found this research,
is that is it growing because the kids are being put in front of a computer screen?
(35:19):
Or are the instructors actually taking them outside?
You know, there could be a huge growth in homeschooling, but you don't know
what percentage of those kids are going outside to learn and do unstructured
activities versus all the virtual schooling that's popping up more so even since
COVID and who's getting homeschooled in that way.
(35:41):
Oh, yeah. No, that is very true.
And, you know, the number that I saw was in 1990, there's 275,000 homeschool kids in the US.
Now, I think this number was from 2020.
So that would be pre-COVID. But there is 3 million homeschool kids.
I mean, that is an insane growth.
But there's no way that those are all, you know, like I'm kind of joking about
(36:06):
outdoorsy on a homestead next to the woods type of homeschools.
I do think a huge amount of that is digital.
And because that type of schooling became more common, we know,
I don't think a lot, but we know a couple of people actually that left,
you know, high school or middle school, but they left high school and they just
did virtual school for the last couple of years.
(36:27):
And so I can't even fathom it.
I didn't do any kind of research on that, but I am sure that number is a huge portion of that.
However, even if that's two thirds of it, you're still seeing a growth up to
a million kids kind of just wanting some different type of education,
some unconventional learning.
(36:48):
And I do think that is people recognizing things aren't always going great.
They want to have more control over their kids.
You are a teacher who's currently not in a classroom, but you're teaching other
educators to get into the classroom.
And there's a problem. There's a shortage. You know, there's a big issue there
that everyone is recognizing.
I think this is capitalism playing out. This is supply and demand and capitalism
(37:11):
playing out, you know, on our children, which is unfortunate.
But this is the reaction. There's a demand for something else that people are
feeling, and this is filling the void and the numbers kind of speak for themselves.
So speaking of numbers, since you think it's such an easy challenge,
I did run a couple of different scenarios because doing math in my free time is apparently fun.
(37:33):
But anyways, a thousand hours over 52 weeks in a year.
Is 19 hours a week or 2.7 hours
a day call it two and a half call it three but if
you're just in somewhere where you can get outside every single day
you got to be doing two and a half to three hours every single day 30 minutes
to an hour i don't think is that difficult even an hour and a half i can definitely
(37:56):
see two hours starts to get a little tricky when like weather and even like
sunshine and stuff in the winter play into that two and a half to three hours a day is a lot lot.
But, you know, we talked about our weather here in Pennsylvania.
Kind of for a few months of the year, maybe it's nicer and you could do four hours or six hours a day.
(38:18):
And that is like a lot. The other months of the year, you still have to do like
an hour and a half all throughout the winter.
So even five months of the year, it's crap. That's still is really hard.
The way that I think it's the most feasible is you got to do four camping trips,
four day weekends every year for camping trips of four days,
you get 24 hours outside all day.
(38:40):
You're kind of cheating the system, even if you do that.
So every three months you're taking a four day camping trip.
I guess it would have to be five days to get, to get that total hours.
You still have to do about 90 minutes a day the rest of the year,
which at least that is achievable.
But you know, these are the kinds of people I think that are getting a thousand
hours and why I think we'll probably do like 300, you know, maybe 400 if I'm generous.
(39:04):
I don't see us going on any camping Although I did tell our boys that I would
take them camping at like the local campgrounds where they kind of just have
like a cabin and a field and stuff like that.
We don't have to rough it too much, but I will maybe do that with them.
And that counts as outdoor time for me. That is so funny. You didn't tell me that math.
I feel like when the babies are a little bit older, we could definitely do four
(39:26):
camping trips for four days, but it would be more like camping glamping.
So then how much of that time are you inside?
And so we'd probably have to make it like, I don't know, five or six camping trips for the year.
Yes. And I'd like to point out,
I think we've mentioned this at least on a couple of episodes already.
How many vacations have we taken in the last two or three years?
(39:48):
Okay, but we're actually outside way more when we go on vacation.
That is true, but I'm just saying, so you're gonna go from zero or one vacations
up to five or six camping trips. I'm all for it. I think it would be fun.
Let's get crazy, but yeah, I think you overestimated it.
So when we finish up and at least help some people out with some fun outdoor
(40:08):
activities that they can try with their kids, again, not everything has to be
super hardcore, but just some outdoor ideas to do with your kids.
Okay, so things you can do with your kids.
The obvious would be like playgrounds.
You can go on hikes, you can do stroller-friendly walks, camping, dance ed, also fishing.
Our oldest is getting into that now.
(40:30):
There's plenty of water activities to do when it's warm out.
So I do think like people in the warmer weather areas have an advantage over
us for sure, because then they can just, you know, the water activities, pools, lakes,
tubing, canoeing, paddle boards, boating, a bunch of things you can do when the weather is nicer.
(40:52):
But then for us in the cold areas of the world, snow play.
I mean, our boys, they really are kind of unfazed by the cold for at least the first hour.
I actually get way cold before them and want to go inside, but I just don't
say anything and bite my tongue.
Yeah, they can stay out pretty long in the cold. I'll give them credit.
They're kind of babies otherwise.
(41:12):
But if it's snowing and they're happy, they can freeze their freaking fingers
off. We said they can, you know, go out in the rain and jump in puddles.
Our boys love to collect sticks.
We can do bike rides. We do that as a family, even though it's a little bit
harder logistically now with the four, we try to make it work.
Our older two are getting into scooters. They can ride their scooters.
(41:37):
Obviously sports. I mean, with our oldest now in a sport, he's getting the time
outside after school two to three days a week. And then the weekends there's
games, sometimes two or three games. So that's a lot in itself.
And all the rest of his family, meaning me and the younger ones are there spectating him.
(41:57):
And honestly, I would say like yard work or chores outside.
They are so young right now, but I keep like crossing my fingers for there's
got to be a reason we had all these boys because I do not like yard work and have to do it.
So I'm just like, in a couple of years, they're all going to be helping me and
(42:17):
then they're all going to be taking over.
Yes, they will. I think it's helpful to, you know, not forget,
just get outside and do some yard work. And it's exhausting,
but it feels good in a lot of ways.
And that's sort of that outdoor exposure. So that's a positive and get your kids used to doing it.
I got some weird looks, I think, from the neighbors, but we had our oldest using
(42:38):
the weed trimmer last year.
And the safety guard was on. He wore goggles.
He shortened the handle so he could swing it. But he actually loved that.
And so once a month, twice a month, he would come outside and cut down some
weeds, trim around the curds and the dragways and stuff.
So all that is good work. Let them get outside and have some fun.
And ever since we've been trying this challenge, again, Dan has us at 300 to
(43:01):
400. I'm definitely going to say we're going to get to 500 at least.
I've been taking a lot of inside activities with them and bringing them outdoors.
Like we'll paint rocks on the table outside or we actually were just building a chicken coop.
It was like a gingerbread chicken coop, I should say. But we brought that outside to do.
(43:23):
And there's plenty of like those hands-on activities that, you know,
it's actually a benefit to you as a parent because it makes less of a mess if
it's outside. We've been really trying to bring those things outside,
especially now in the spring when the weather's getting nice.
And then it gives us 30 to 60 minutes outside to track down.
(43:44):
Yeah, that is a great idea. It's just take something you would do inside, take it outside.
I do want to share a video on this, and maybe we'll do something on fun kids' activities.
But another great idea, if you have toddlers, is to give them the safety scissors
that they can cut paper and stuff with. and just let them cut grass.
I saw it last summer and I let them try it. And I did not think they would get
(44:07):
like as hooked as they did.
And they love it. Like a morning, a nice sunny morning or like a weekend,
they just want their scissors.
They just want their scissors and they go out and they cut some grass.
Now, eventually they'll get bored and look for other things to cut.
So you got to keep an eye on them, but it is so funny that they are just so
content, tent, like sitting, kneeling in the grass and just cutting things down.
(44:30):
So there's another tip for you. Give them some safety scissors, let them cut some grass.
If you are a dad, I don't know how many dads in our boat that may listen to
this, but if you're looking for some great ways to get outdoors after everyone
gets to bed in the summer,
when it's a little nice and sunny out, you can sit on the deck and smoke a cigar
and no one will complain about the snow.
(44:51):
You can enjoy some music or a book or whatever.
That's like the 40 minutes of enjoyable freedom in the quiet that you get without
having to bother anyone.
We usually do a bonfire and then everyone else but Dan goes inside because let's
face it, nobody else wants to smell that.
That's right. So that is a once in a while treat. But hey, look,
(45:14):
dads need their outdoor times too. I don't get as much as you during the day.
That's true. So if you're going to track with us, you'll get the 300.
We'll get the five. That is fine by me.
All right. So let us know if you try this challenge.
I mean, we started in January, but you can technically start it whenever and
then obviously track it for a year.
(45:35):
Yeah, it doesn't really have to be January. I think you saw it right around
New Year's because it's like a resolution thing. But, you know, that's the fun part.
Do whatever you want. Track it summer to summer, winter to winter, whatever you got to do.
Let us know how you do. Let us know your ideas that you might have or things that you're trying.
And we'd love to see how everyone is holding up. Oh my goodness, I have one more tip.
Oh boy. This kept the boys outside
(45:56):
last summer so long. We weren't tracking, so we have to do it again.
Remember, we bought them like the loudest laser guns in the world.
They were obsessed with them or they are still obsessed with them.
So they wanted to play with them like four or five times a day.
And we said, all right, on the deck.
Yes, that's right. Right. They were they're just like dollar store little laser guns.
(46:18):
Again, I cannot stress how like cheap and simple these toys were.
They're like the size of their hands. They're white with like a blue light and
a red light and a little trigger.
And they made the most obnoxious, high pitched, annoying squeal when they pulled
that trigger and the lights flash and they loved them.
And they were absolutely not indoor toys. we have to get more if the sound doesn't
(46:42):
work but we are apologizing to any neighbors listening to this too yeah they're
not going to like how many hours we spent out with that but yes find something
annoying for your kids and then turn it into an outdoor activity there you go there you go see ya bye.
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