An Indoor Generation

I was reading about an interesting concept the other day; that we are an ‘indoor generation’ and the more I thought about it the more I realised how truthful and worrying this is. The article (linked at the bottom) estimated that in the UK we spend 92% of our time indoors! I thought this cannot be true but then I thought about my average day on campus. The only time I really get outside is when I am walking to lectures or to the shop. Twice a week I do go for a run in the mornings, but this is normally in the dark. We seem to have found a way to spend our time living indoors. We don’t need sunlight as we have artificial light and who would go for a run in the mud outside when you can run on a treadmill. These thoughts are not something i would consider being 'sustainable'.

Looking back in history to when we didn’t have electricity and so used real fires for heating and candles for light we have always tried to make our homes a place of comfort. But is this life of comfort actually doing more damage than good? In 2016 the NHS estimated that 1 in every 5 people have low levels of vitamin D and now more and more people are choosing to take a supplement for it. Me included! Whilst electricity is benefitting our lives in so many ways we cannot rely on it for everything. People are moving from house to car to office and they’re not spending any time in the fresh air. The convenience of cars has also affected this. I was lucky enough to get a job this summer that was only a 30-minute walk from my house or about a 10-minute drive. Unfortunately, I cannot drive so I walked to work every day and I was shocked that every morning I did not see a single other person walking! Sometimes I feel like we are turning into the people from Disney’s film WALL-E!

I want to challenge everyone reading this post to try and spend more time outside this week. I know the weather has been rubbish but we are so lucky to have such a big and beautiful campus. Go out there and try and spend at least 15 minutes just taking everything in. Turn off your phones and take off your headphones and just appreciate the world we live in. Ask a friend and explore Keele woods together and have a good catch up. Turn your lights off at your house and open your curtains to let the natural sunlight in, in the morning. It is so much easier to wake up to natural light and fresh air than a stuffy room powered by electricity. You will wake up better and be cutting down on the electricity you use, reducing your carbon footprint and saving the planet!! At the bungalow we are lucky enough to have a garden to spend time in and you will often see Lily out there! If you wanted to do something productive outside, then come and give us a hand with the garden! All help is greatly appreciated.

With mental health issues affecting many people of our age group I strongly believe that taking just 15 minutes a day to come off social media and spend time outside will help improve not only physical health but mental health. Also World Mental Health Day is coming up on the 10th of October! So, this week get outside, get your windows open and just let the natural environment into your life. Stop making boundaries between yourself and the outside, embrace it!

- Lo 

https://road.cc/content/news/217728-brits-spend-92-all-their-time-indoors

Other Interesting Reads:
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/we-are-now-an-indoor-generation-this-is-the-impact-it-has-on-our-wellbeing_uk_5af548b3e4b00d7e4c1932ee?