Did you know that June 18th is International Picnic Day? We’ve summed up some eco-friendly picnic tips before, but we thought that we’d take this opportunity to remind you of all of the good, healthy and stress-reducing reasons to take some time to get outside and eat. After all, what’s not to love about a holiday that celebrates doing something instead of buying something?
The Benefits of a Picnic
Do we really need to tell you that almost all Americans spend too much time indoors? We probably don’t. But more importantly, it’s a trend that is increasing instead of decreasing. According to one study, young people now spend an average of seven hours and thirty-eight minutes daily for indoor media use (video games, TV, computers). That’s almost fifty-three hours weekly – or over two full days of the week!
The downside of that is fairly epic if you add it all up. Not only does it mean that it’s likely people are getting less and less essential Vitamin-D, it also means less exercise and less healthy individuals. Those are the obvious drawbacks. Increased energy use to run all of those media items that you or others are using indoors is another. But a final, and potentially most important one, is an increasing lack of connection to nature or the planet. We can’t expect people to want to save the planet if they don’t feel a deep relationship to it.
Whether you’re concerned about too much time indoors yourself or whether you’re a parent trying to break a bad indoor habit with a child, incorporating picnics into your life is a great way to reduce indoor time and connect with nature. We all have to eat – so let’s get outside and do it.
