One key advantage of picnics is that you will get the opportunity to relax from your stressful daily life. Many people in our society nowadays are simply overwhelmed with all the things they have to do on a daily basis. For instance, many people work in quite demanding jobs and have to take care of their family at the same time.
Moreover, they also have to make sure to have enough time for their friends. All those things can cause significant stress, which can also turn into serious health issues in the long run. If you are one of those stressed people, definitely try to make a picnic from time to time in order to relax and to unplug from your daily life.
If you want to relax even more, make sure to turn off all your electronic devices during your picnic so that your brain can also subconsciously take a break.
#1 Fresh Air - It Does Wonders for Your Mental Health
The fresh air does wonders for your mental health. Spending time outside is shown to reduce levels of anxiety and lower levels of activity in the parts of our brains related to mental illness. Time in the sunshine is also related to improved mood and reduced stress levels for the whole family. Other benefits can include:
- Good for your digestive system
- Improve blood pressure and heart rate
- Makes you happier
- Strengthens your immune system
- Cleans your lungs
- Gives you more energy and a sharper mind
#2 Vitamin D - Reduces Depression & Fights Diseases
Vitamin D is sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because it’s produced in your skin in response to sunlight. It’s a fat-soluble vitamin in a family of compounds that includes vitamins D-1, D-2, and D-3.
Your body produces vitamin D naturally when it’s directly exposed to sunlight. You can also get it through certain foods and supplements to ensure adequate levels of the vitamin in your blood.
Vitamin D has several important functions. Perhaps the most vital are regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and facilitating normal immune system function. Getting a sufficient amount of vitamin D is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance against certain diseases.
If your body doesn’t get enough vitamin D, you’re at risk of developing bone abnormalities such as soft bones (osteomalacia) or fragile bones (osteoporosis).
#3 Bonding Time - Form a Deeper Connection
With some family members or friends, you may also have a rather shallow relationship since you don’t see each other too often. In such a case, picnics can be a great way to improve your relationships with those people since it gives you the opportunity to talk to those people in a relaxing environment.
Adults with strong social support have a reduced risk of many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI). Studies have even found that older adults with a rich social life are likely to live longer than their peers with fewer connections.
- Show that you are happy to see someone
- Be warm and friendly
- Focus on what you have in common
- Listen well
- Give compliments
- Open up
- Maintain rapport
- Tell them that you think it’s fun to hang out with them
- Keep in touch
#4 Laughter - Laugh Your Worries Away
It’s true: laughter is strong medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Laughter strengthens your immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects you from the damaging effects of stress. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh.
Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hope, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. It also helps you release anger and forgive sooner.
With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.
As children, we used to laugh hundreds of times a day, but as adults, life tends to be more serious and laughter more infrequent. But by seeking out more opportunities for humor and laughter, you can improve your emotional health, strengthen your relationships, find greater happiness—and even add years to your life.
#5 Be Present - The Power Of Being Present & In The Moment
Being present helps improve social skills, creativity, appreciate your world more, release stress, worry and overthink less plus you become more open and playful.
Now, being present is quite hard to keep up. You slip back into not being present. And that's OK. Don't beat yourself up. Just accept that you are not present and you'll feel better and more relaxed. Then it will be easier to slip back into the present moment again. Just like with anything, going for perfection often just leads to anxiety, self-doubts and beating yourself up.
Going for consistency and improving your consistency gradually – slipping back into old habits less and less – is more useful.
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” - Buddha
#6 Dining Alternative - Stress-free Dining
With all the restrictions and requirements in place due to COVID-19, going out for lunch or dinner just ain’t like it used to be. It can be very stressful and even hard to get a table. Plus, if you go to a restaurant, you will often have a rather limited choice of foods and your favorite dish may not be on the menu.
However, for picnics, there is no checking in or restriction. You can bring your own food and can decide what you want to eat that day. Therefore, you can pick the food which you like most and do not have to rely on restaurants at all. Moreover, you can also choose to bring high-quality organic food instead.
Picnics can also be great if you have a date and want to make something really romantic. Many women love picnics, yet not too many already had a picnic date. Hence, if you want to make something special for your next date, try out a picnic! Many women will really appreciate that and chances are that your date success rate will improve significantly over time.
