(Akiit.com) Are you spending enough time outside and getting active? For most people, the honest answer to that question is probably no. We’re all now used to living quite sedentary lives. And those of us living in cities might not really spend time outdoors enjoying nature much at all. So what can you do to change that situation and get outdoors more often? There are lots of ideas out there and they’ll benefit your health in numerous ways too.
By adopting a few simple habits and finding new reasons to spend time outdoors, you will start increasing your activity levels and improving your health in no time. It’s a lot easier to do this than you might think, so don’t ignore the opportunities out there. We should all be looking for new ways to embrace the great outdoors and really make the most of what the natural world has to offer us.
Take Your Time and Walk to Where You Need to Be
When you have the time, you should reject your car and public transport and instead walk to where you need to be. It’s such a 
simple thing but so often we take the easy and lazy route because we don’t want to put in the effort. That’s never how it should be, so force yourself to take this option once in a while. You might even find that you enjoy walking and want to do more of it, which can only be a good thing for your health.
Make Your Next Trip a Camping Trip
If you’re planning a trip with your family or a group of friends anytime soon, you should try to find a trip that will allow you to get more active and enjoy the great outdoors. A camping trip offers you the very best way to do this. You can make the most of the outdoors, go walking and climb some hills and mountains if you want to. It gives you a reason to fully immerse yourself in nature and enjoy what it has to offer you.
On a Pleasant Sunday Afternoon, Have a Picnic
Eating outdoors is one way to spend more time out there. When a nice day comes around, you can make the most of it by taking the opportunity to have a picnic with family and friends. It’s a great thing to do on a Sunday when you have nothing else planned and want to get outdoors. You can incorporate a walk into the afternoon so that you’re getting some exercise at the same time, which is definitely positive.
Get Back Into Photography
Photography can be a lot of fun when you’re really into it and get passionate about achieving those perfect shots. And of course, the best type of photography is certainly nature photography. This is something that you should make the most of because by taking up nature photography or getting back into it if you’ve tried it before, you’ll be able to spend more time outdoors. It’s always good to have hobbies that take you outside.
Tend to Your Garden
If you haven’t been paying very much attention to your garden recently, it’s definitely a good idea to start tending to it more. This is useful for a few reasons. For a start, when you have a garden that looks good and is nicely kept, you will naturally want to spend more time out there. On top of that, the process of tending to your garden can be more physically intensive than you think, allowing you to get some extra exercise in.
Adopt a Dog
Having a dog is a great way to spend more time outdoors because it makes it necessary for you to takes walks a few times per day. Dogs need that exercise and as the owner of a dog, you’ll be duty bound to provide it with that exercise. So if you really want to force yourself to spend more time outdoors and getting active, maybe you should think about adopting a dog if you don’t have one already.
Spend Time on the Water and Relax
Getting out there on the water is another good way to embrace the outdoors. Rather than getting active, this is more about improving your health by reducing your stress levels. You should get an affordable boat, find the best battery for your boat and spend as much time on the water as you can. Or you can simply hire a boat as a one-off thing if you want to try it out. When the water’s calm and the weather’s good, it can be incredibly relaxing and enjoyable.
Find a Good Natural Spot for Yoga or Meditation
Yoga and meditation are both very good for the body and the mind. So if you want to do more of it, you should spend more time outdoors doing it. Finding the perfect natural spot for relaxing and doing yoga makes these activities even more invigorating for you. Many people now choose to do yoga outdoors and it really is a completely different way to practice yoga. If you’ve never tried it before, you definitely should.
Commit to Seeing the Sunset in a Good Location Once Per Week
When was the last time you watched the sunset or sunrise? Many of us ignore these things, but if you find the perfect natural spot somewhere high up with a good view can be the ideal way to enjoy these beautiful sights. And, of course, it gets you outside and forces you to get active for a short while. If you commit to do this at least once per week, it’ll be massively positive for you.
Spending time outside is really important because more and more of us spend our days sitting behind a desk and then going home to sit on the sofa. It might seem like the normal way to live, but it’s no good from a health and fitness standpoint, so make the most of these ideas and get outside more often.
Staff Writer; Gary Day