{"id":10926,"date":"2018-07-05T11:17:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T15:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebw.tv\/?p=10926"},"modified":"2018-08-09T11:31:18","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T15:31:18","slug":"healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"http:\/\/scccmh.org\"><em>Sponsored by: St. Clair County Community Mental Health<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0Summer in the Blue Water Area affords those of us lucky enough to live here the opportunity to improve our health while enjoying stunning scenery and many outdoor activities. Whether it\u2019s picnicking at Pine Grove Park, boating on our spectacular waterways, taking a swim at Lakeside Park, strolling along the Blue Water River Walk, or bicycling the Bridge-to-Bay Trail, there is never a shortage of fun and interesting activities for area residents to enjoy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0Unfortunately, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, an American who lives until the average age of 78 will have spent 68 years of their life indoors, five years in their car and only fives years outdoors!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0By spending so little time outdoors, we are robbing ourselves of the many physical and mental benefits of nature. Nature\u2019s fresh air helps our lungs to dilate more fully and improves their ability to cleanse the body of indoor pollutants like mold, mildew, bacteria, dust mites and animal dander. Spending time outdoors also lowers heart rates and blood pressure rates, while providing vitamin D, which is critical for bone growth, cell growth and neuromuscular and immune function. Because very few foods contain vitamin D, to stay healthy most of us need to get 80 percent to 90 percent of our vitamin D from sunshine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0It is also unfortunate that according to the Centers for Disease Control, only 20 percent of Americans meet the recommendations of exercising moderately for two and a half hours per week and vigorous exercise for an hour and 15 minutes per week. Instead, most adult do only 17 minutes of fitness activity a day. Unhealthy diets, combined with lack of exercise, contribute to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the United States. In the past 30 years, obesity rates have doubled in adults, tripled in children, and quadrupled in adolescents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0Outdoor activities make exercise easier because when we\u2019re out of doors we\u2019re distracted from physical activity by the sights and sounds and smells around us. Great outdoor aerobic activities like walking, jogging, cycling, hiking swimming, and kayaking strengthen heart and lungs, lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, improve immune function, and lower blood pressure. Aerobic exercise also burns up calories, which can in turn help to shed excess weight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0Spending time outside also has substantial mental health benefits. Being outdoors make us happy by decreasing anxiety, stress and depression. There is hard scientific evidence backing this up. Sunlight exposure is important in maintaining healthy serotonin levels. Serotonin is one of the chief chemicals in your body that is responsible for maintaining mood balance. Also, scientific studies have shown that people who spend time outdoors have lower levels of cortisol \u2014 a hormone that is used as a marker for stress \u2014 than people who spend most of their time indoors. Modern brain scanning technology provides the answer why, revealing that when outdoors the brain\u2019s \u201ccommand center,\u201d the prefrontal cortex, is less active, resting like an overworked muscle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0Additional positive mental health results from spending time outdoors includes increased brain function, reduced symptoms of ADHD, increased creativity, improved short term memory, and less mental fatigue. Studies indicate that the impact of spending just 20 minutes outside to mental alertness is about the same as we get from a cup of coffee!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0To enjoy all these benefits, commit to spending at least a half hour to 45 minutes outside every day. Even better, try to spend some time outside every day exercising. It\u2019s never too late to enjoy the great outdoors!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0For St. Clair County Community Mental Health services visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scccmh.org\">sccchm.org<\/a> or call (810) 985-8900.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sponsored by: St. Clair County Community Mental Health \u00a0 \u00a0Summer in the Blue Water Area affords those of us lucky enough to live here the opportunity to improve our health while enjoying stunning scenery and many outdoor activities. Whether it\u2019s picnicking at Pine Grove Park, boating on our spectacular waterways, taking a swim at Lakeside [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":9912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","et_post_format-et-post-format-video","et-has-post-format-content"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness Activities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Summer in the Blue Water Area affords those of us lucky enough to live here the opportunity to improve our health while enjoying stunning scenery and many outdoor activities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness Activities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 \u00a0Summer in the Blue Water Area affords those of us lucky enough to live here the opportunity to improve our health while enjoying stunning scenery and many outdoor activities. Whether it\u2019s picnicking at Pine Grove Park, boating on our spectacular waterways, taking a swim at Lakeside Park, strolling along the Blue Water River Walk, or bicycling the Bridge-to-Bay Trail, there is never a shortage of fun and interesting activities for area residents to enjoy. \u00a0 \u00a0Unfortunately, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, an American who lives until the average age of 78 will have spent 68 years of their life indoors, five years in their car and only fives years outdoors! \u00a0 \u00a0By spending so little time outdoors, we are robbing ourselves of the many physical and mental benefits of nature. Nature\u2019s fresh air helps our lungs to dilate more fully and improves their ability to cleanse the body of indoor pollutants like mold, mildew, bacteria, dust mites and animal dander. Spending time outdoors also lowers heart rates and blood pressure rates, while providing vitamin D, which is critical for bone growth, cell growth and neuromuscular and immune function. Because very few foods contain vitamin D, to stay healthy most of us need to get 80 percent to 90 percent of our vitamin D from sunshine. \u00a0 \u00a0It is also unfortunate that according to the Centers for Disease Control, only 20 percent of Americans meet the recommendations of exercising moderately for two and a half hours per week and vigorous exercise for an hour and 15 minutes per week. Instead, most adult do only 17 minutes of fitness activity a day. Unhealthy diets, combined with lack of exercise, contribute to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the United States. In the past 30 years, obesity rates have doubled in adults, tripled in children, and quadrupled in adolescents. \u00a0 \u00a0Outdoor activities make exercise easier because when we\u2019re out of doors we\u2019re distracted from physical activity by the sights and sounds and smells around us. Great outdoor aerobic activities like walking, jogging, cycling, hiking swimming, and kayaking strengthen heart and lungs, lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, improve immune function, and lower blood pressure. Aerobic exercise also burns up calories, which can in turn help to shed excess weight. \u00a0 \u00a0Spending time outside also has substantial mental health benefits. Being outdoors make us happy by decreasing anxiety, stress and depression. There is hard scientific evidence backing this up. Sunlight exposure is important in maintaining healthy serotonin levels. Serotonin is one of the chief chemicals in your body that is responsible for maintaining mood balance. Also, scientific studies have shown that people who spend time outdoors have lower levels of cortisol \u2014 a hormone that is used as a marker for stress \u2014 than people who spend most of their time indoors. Modern brain scanning technology provides the answer why, revealing that when outdoors the brain\u2019s \u201ccommand center,\u201d the prefrontal cortex, is less active, resting like an overworked muscle. \u00a0 \u00a0Additional positive mental health results from spending time outdoors includes increased brain function, reduced symptoms of ADHD, increased creativity, improved short term memory, and less mental fatigue. Studies indicate that the impact of spending just 20 minutes outside to mental alertness is about the same as we get from a cup of coffee! \u00a0 \u00a0To enjoy all these benefits, commit to spending at least a half hour to 45 minutes outside every day. Even better, try to spend some time outside every day exercising. It\u2019s never too late to enjoy the great outdoors! \u00a0 \u00a0For St. Clair County Community Mental Health services visit sccchm.org or call (810) 985-8900.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thumbcoast.tv | ebw.tv - Serving Port Huron and the Thumbcoast\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bluewatertv\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-05T15:17:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-09T15:31:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/EBW-intro-screen.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1649\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1276\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"St. Clair County Community Mental Health\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness Activities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"\u00a0 \u00a0Summer in the Blue Water Area affords those of us lucky enough to live here the opportunity to improve our health while enjoying stunning scenery and many outdoor activities. Whether it\u2019s picnicking at Pine Grove Park, boating on our spectacular waterways, taking a swim at Lakeside Park, strolling along the Blue Water River Walk, or bicycling the Bridge-to-Bay Trail, there is never a shortage of fun and interesting activities for area residents to enjoy. \u00a0 \u00a0Unfortunately, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, an American who lives until the average age of 78 will have spent 68 years of their life indoors, five years in their car and only fives years outdoors! \u00a0 \u00a0By spending so little time outdoors, we are robbing ourselves of the many physical and mental benefits of nature. Nature\u2019s fresh air helps our lungs to dilate more fully and improves their ability to cleanse the body of indoor pollutants like mold, mildew, bacteria, dust mites and animal dander. Spending time outdoors also lowers heart rates and blood pressure rates, while providing vitamin D, which is critical for bone growth, cell growth and neuromuscular and immune function. Because very few foods contain vitamin D, to stay healthy most of us need to get 80 percent to 90 percent of our vitamin D from sunshine. \u00a0 \u00a0It is also unfortunate that according to the Centers for Disease Control, only 20 percent of Americans meet the recommendations of exercising moderately for two and a half hours per week and vigorous exercise for an hour and 15 minutes per week. Instead, most adult do only 17 minutes of fitness activity a day. Unhealthy diets, combined with lack of exercise, contribute to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the United States. In the past 30 years, obesity rates have doubled in adults, tripled in children, and quadrupled in adolescents. \u00a0 \u00a0Outdoor activities make exercise easier because when we\u2019re out of doors we\u2019re distracted from physical activity by the sights and sounds and smells around us. Great outdoor aerobic activities like walking, jogging, cycling, hiking swimming, and kayaking strengthen heart and lungs, lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, improve immune function, and lower blood pressure. Aerobic exercise also burns up calories, which can in turn help to shed excess weight. \u00a0 \u00a0Spending time outside also has substantial mental health benefits. Being outdoors make us happy by decreasing anxiety, stress and depression. There is hard scientific evidence backing this up. Sunlight exposure is important in maintaining healthy serotonin levels. Serotonin is one of the chief chemicals in your body that is responsible for maintaining mood balance. Also, scientific studies have shown that people who spend time outdoors have lower levels of cortisol \u2014 a hormone that is used as a marker for stress \u2014 than people who spend most of their time indoors. Modern brain scanning technology provides the answer why, revealing that when outdoors the brain\u2019s \u201ccommand center,\u201d the prefrontal cortex, is less active, resting like an overworked muscle. \u00a0 \u00a0Additional positive mental health results from spending time outdoors includes increased brain function, reduced symptoms of ADHD, increased creativity, improved short term memory, and less mental fatigue. Studies indicate that the impact of spending just 20 minutes outside to mental alertness is about the same as we get from a cup of coffee! \u00a0 \u00a0To enjoy all these benefits, commit to spending at least a half hour to 45 minutes outside every day. Even better, try to spend some time outside every day exercising. It\u2019s never too late to enjoy the great outdoors! \u00a0 \u00a0For St. Clair County Community Mental Health services visit sccchm.org or call (810) 985-8900.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ebw.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/EBW-intro-screen.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EbwtvNews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EbwtvNews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"St. Clair County Community Mental Health\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"St. Clair County Community Mental Health\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/#\/schema\/person\/350adb82532000aaa81ac9ce8cc426e2\"},\"headline\":\"Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness Activities\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-05T15:17:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-09T15:31:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/\"},\"wordCount\":609,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/EBW-intro-screen.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/\",\"name\":\"Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness Activities\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/EBW-intro-screen.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-05T15:17:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-09T15:31:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Summer in the Blue Water Area affords those of us lucky enough to live here the opportunity to improve our health while enjoying stunning scenery and many outdoor activities.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/EBW-intro-screen.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/EBW-intro-screen.jpg\",\"width\":1649,\"height\":1276},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness Activities\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/\",\"name\":\"ebw.tv - 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Whether it\u2019s picnicking at Pine Grove Park, boating on our spectacular waterways, taking a swim at Lakeside Park, strolling along the Blue Water River Walk, or bicycling the Bridge-to-Bay Trail, there is never a shortage of fun and interesting activities for area residents to enjoy. \u00a0 \u00a0Unfortunately, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, an American who lives until the average age of 78 will have spent 68 years of their life indoors, five years in their car and only fives years outdoors! \u00a0 \u00a0By spending so little time outdoors, we are robbing ourselves of the many physical and mental benefits of nature. Nature\u2019s fresh air helps our lungs to dilate more fully and improves their ability to cleanse the body of indoor pollutants like mold, mildew, bacteria, dust mites and animal dander. Spending time outdoors also lowers heart rates and blood pressure rates, while providing vitamin D, which is critical for bone growth, cell growth and neuromuscular and immune function. Because very few foods contain vitamin D, to stay healthy most of us need to get 80 percent to 90 percent of our vitamin D from sunshine. \u00a0 \u00a0It is also unfortunate that according to the Centers for Disease Control, only 20 percent of Americans meet the recommendations of exercising moderately for two and a half hours per week and vigorous exercise for an hour and 15 minutes per week. Instead, most adult do only 17 minutes of fitness activity a day. Unhealthy diets, combined with lack of exercise, contribute to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the United States. In the past 30 years, obesity rates have doubled in adults, tripled in children, and quadrupled in adolescents. \u00a0 \u00a0Outdoor activities make exercise easier because when we\u2019re out of doors we\u2019re distracted from physical activity by the sights and sounds and smells around us. Great outdoor aerobic activities like walking, jogging, cycling, hiking swimming, and kayaking strengthen heart and lungs, lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, improve immune function, and lower blood pressure. Aerobic exercise also burns up calories, which can in turn help to shed excess weight. \u00a0 \u00a0Spending time outside also has substantial mental health benefits. Being outdoors make us happy by decreasing anxiety, stress and depression. There is hard scientific evidence backing this up. Sunlight exposure is important in maintaining healthy serotonin levels. Serotonin is one of the chief chemicals in your body that is responsible for maintaining mood balance. Also, scientific studies have shown that people who spend time outdoors have lower levels of cortisol \u2014 a hormone that is used as a marker for stress \u2014 than people who spend most of their time indoors. Modern brain scanning technology provides the answer why, revealing that when outdoors the brain\u2019s \u201ccommand center,\u201d the prefrontal cortex, is less active, resting like an overworked muscle. \u00a0 \u00a0Additional positive mental health results from spending time outdoors includes increased brain function, reduced symptoms of ADHD, increased creativity, improved short term memory, and less mental fatigue. Studies indicate that the impact of spending just 20 minutes outside to mental alertness is about the same as we get from a cup of coffee! \u00a0 \u00a0To enjoy all these benefits, commit to spending at least a half hour to 45 minutes outside every day. Even better, try to spend some time outside every day exercising. It\u2019s never too late to enjoy the great outdoors! \u00a0 \u00a0For St. Clair County Community Mental Health services visit sccchm.org or call (810) 985-8900.","og_url":"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/","og_site_name":"Thumbcoast.tv | ebw.tv - Serving Port Huron and the Thumbcoast","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bluewatertv\/","article_published_time":"2018-07-05T15:17:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-09T15:31:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1649,"height":1276,"url":"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/EBW-intro-screen.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"St. Clair County Community Mental Health","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness Activities","twitter_description":"\u00a0 \u00a0Summer in the Blue Water Area affords those of us lucky enough to live here the opportunity to improve our health while enjoying stunning scenery and many outdoor activities. Whether it\u2019s picnicking at Pine Grove Park, boating on our spectacular waterways, taking a swim at Lakeside Park, strolling along the Blue Water River Walk, or bicycling the Bridge-to-Bay Trail, there is never a shortage of fun and interesting activities for area residents to enjoy. \u00a0 \u00a0Unfortunately, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, an American who lives until the average age of 78 will have spent 68 years of their life indoors, five years in their car and only fives years outdoors! \u00a0 \u00a0By spending so little time outdoors, we are robbing ourselves of the many physical and mental benefits of nature. Nature\u2019s fresh air helps our lungs to dilate more fully and improves their ability to cleanse the body of indoor pollutants like mold, mildew, bacteria, dust mites and animal dander. Spending time outdoors also lowers heart rates and blood pressure rates, while providing vitamin D, which is critical for bone growth, cell growth and neuromuscular and immune function. Because very few foods contain vitamin D, to stay healthy most of us need to get 80 percent to 90 percent of our vitamin D from sunshine. \u00a0 \u00a0It is also unfortunate that according to the Centers for Disease Control, only 20 percent of Americans meet the recommendations of exercising moderately for two and a half hours per week and vigorous exercise for an hour and 15 minutes per week. Instead, most adult do only 17 minutes of fitness activity a day. Unhealthy diets, combined with lack of exercise, contribute to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the United States. In the past 30 years, obesity rates have doubled in adults, tripled in children, and quadrupled in adolescents. \u00a0 \u00a0Outdoor activities make exercise easier because when we\u2019re out of doors we\u2019re distracted from physical activity by the sights and sounds and smells around us. Great outdoor aerobic activities like walking, jogging, cycling, hiking swimming, and kayaking strengthen heart and lungs, lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, improve immune function, and lower blood pressure. Aerobic exercise also burns up calories, which can in turn help to shed excess weight. \u00a0 \u00a0Spending time outside also has substantial mental health benefits. Being outdoors make us happy by decreasing anxiety, stress and depression. There is hard scientific evidence backing this up. Sunlight exposure is important in maintaining healthy serotonin levels. Serotonin is one of the chief chemicals in your body that is responsible for maintaining mood balance. Also, scientific studies have shown that people who spend time outdoors have lower levels of cortisol \u2014 a hormone that is used as a marker for stress \u2014 than people who spend most of their time indoors. Modern brain scanning technology provides the answer why, revealing that when outdoors the brain\u2019s \u201ccommand center,\u201d the prefrontal cortex, is less active, resting like an overworked muscle. \u00a0 \u00a0Additional positive mental health results from spending time outdoors includes increased brain function, reduced symptoms of ADHD, increased creativity, improved short term memory, and less mental fatigue. Studies indicate that the impact of spending just 20 minutes outside to mental alertness is about the same as we get from a cup of coffee! \u00a0 \u00a0To enjoy all these benefits, commit to spending at least a half hour to 45 minutes outside every day. Even better, try to spend some time outside every day exercising. It\u2019s never too late to enjoy the great outdoors! \u00a0 \u00a0For St. Clair County Community Mental Health services visit sccchm.org or call (810) 985-8900.","twitter_image":"http:\/\/ebw.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/EBW-intro-screen.jpg","twitter_creator":"@EbwtvNews","twitter_site":"@EbwtvNews","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"St. Clair County Community Mental Health","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/healthy-bodies-healthy-minds-july\/"},"author":{"name":"St. Clair County Community Mental Health","@id":"https:\/\/thumbcoast.tv\/#\/schema\/person\/350adb82532000aaa81ac9ce8cc426e2"},"headline":"Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies: July Mental Health Awareness 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