Study finds going outdoors for 30 minutes can save your life

The University of Queensland (UQ) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) led researchers equate time outdoors to vitamins and water, which you need a small dose to stay healthy. If you get at least 30 minutes a week, it'll minimize the risks of having heart disease, stress, anxiety and depression.

According to researcher, Danielle Shanahan to Psy Post, “If everyone visited their local parks for half an hour each week there would be seven per cent fewer cases of depression and nine percent fewer cases of high blood pressure.”

In addition, another researcher, Richard Fuller, said, “We’ve known for a long time that visiting parks is good for our health, but we are now beginning to establish exactly how much time we need to spend in parks to gain these benefits.”

According to the research published in Nature magazine, being outdoors is even better for kids. “Our children especially benefit from spending more time outdoors," said Shanahan. "Kids who grow up experiencing natural environments may benefit developmentally and have a heightened environmental awareness as adults than those who don’t.”

So ditch the smartphones and tablets and many devices and get some fresh air.