A breath of fresh air – the benefits of playing outdoors

06/03/23

With Spring around the corner, what better time to enjoy being outside? Nowadays, technology plays such a big role, it’s good to get youngsters away from computer screens and into the great outdoors. To entice children outside, it’s a good idea to encourage them to head to a local park or spend time on their school’s play equipment or to play in their garden.

Here’s the science part:

• Oxygen and brain function - 20% of the oxygen you breathe in is used by the brain to function, therefore, increasing the amount of time spent outdoors provides greater brain clarity
• Aids serotonin release – Oxygen boosts the amount of serotonin you have in your blood and serotonin promotes happiness and wellbeing. That’s why you often feel better outside, and your mood is boosted
• Reduces illness – breathing in fresh air reduces bacteria and viruses’ chances of survival
• Improves the efficiency of cells – oxygen improves and supports the efficiency of the body, including hormone production, digestion, tissue renewal, muscle contraction and many more
• Good for your lungs – often when you are outside you breathe in more deeply than you would indoors, helping to support clean lung function.

It’s important for children to learn in school but the time spent learning and playing outside is equally important. Playing outdoors allows children to develop social skills, including self-confidence, independence, and self-esteem. In an outdoors setting a child is more likely to try new activities, whether that be climbing a new tree, a new sport or simply collecting leaves. It challenges their play time and they become aware of their limits and boundaries.

Outdoor play is good for children’s health

Stimulation from technology and social media is creating a lot more anxiety and depression in this generation. Outdoors can have a calming effect on children and trees, flowers and plants can have a soothing effect. Outside play reduces the risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol as adults.

Where to find play equipment?

There is an abundance of local parks in most areas; a free opportunity for children to use their imagination and play outside in a safe place. The NHS recommends 5-18 years olds to have 60 minutes each day of moderate exercise and one of the suggestions is to be outdoors, participating in playground activities, including jumping, running and catching. Outdoor play areas allow physical, social, emotional, and imaginative play. Any type of child-led play can help children’s cognitive development but play areas particularly boost the term cognitive play as this type of play is good at building problem–evolving and thinking skills.

Whether it is swinging from a tree, balancing on a suspension bridge or splashing dirt in a mud kitchen, we can help. Here at Ace Play Ltd, we are passionate about creating inspiring play areas for children all over the UK. If you would like to know more about what we can supply, please contact us here.