Summer means different things to different people. For many of us, it’s memories of playing outdoors with friends and family and exploring outdoors from sunup to sundown.
Perhaps we were walking or biking in a park, discovering a new playground, or playing sports in the neighborhood until the streetlights came on. Whatever the venue, we were outside, moving our bodies, building connections and making memories.
It’s fitting, then, that July is Park and Recreation Month. Since 1985, parks and recreation departments across the country have seized this opportunity to promote how parks and other outdoor recreational spaces build stronger, more resilient, more vibrant communities.
This year’s theme is “Where You Belong.” It celebrates how we can find a sense of belonging and community when we get outside and engage with nature and each other.
Belonging starts with connection, and unfortunately, we cannot connect if we are feeling chronically stressed, sleep-deprived, overwhelmed or lonely. Too many of us feel like this and technology is fueling the fire.
According to a 2024 Deloitte Economics Institute report commissioned by the American Optometric Association, Americans spend more than seven hours a day looking at screens. This is excessive, and the Mayo Clinic warns that it can lead to eye strain, obesity, disrupted sleep, social isolation, anxiety, depression, a shortened attention span and even cognitive impairment when it comes to learning.
One of the keys to combating this? Unplugging. What happens when we unplug – even if it’s just for a few minutes? Here are just a few of the benefits.
- Physical Health: As Northwestern Health Sciences University observes, people of all ages need to get up and move. Not only are you protecting yourself from repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome and “text neck,” you’re building strength, endurance, balance and flexibility. This is protective when it comes to chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, says the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Using outdoor exercise spaces with equipment designed for a variety of ages and fitness levels is one way to get the benefits of movement and of being outdoors together. ELEVATE® Obstacle Course Fitness fosters intergenerational connections and engagement and offers people of different fitness levels options to exercise in comfortable way and provides growth opportunities.
- Immune Response: The concept of forest bathing originated in Japan as a medicinal practice and a response to the country’s technological revolution and urbanization. The government encouraged people to practice forest bathing to de-stress and reconnect with nature. They were onto something. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, exposure to forests boosts our immune system. When we breathe in organic compounds from trees called phytoncides, our bodies increase the numbers and activity of natural killer cells, a type of white blood cell. Taking a walk or hike through the trees can be an easy way to relieve stress and boost immunity – win, win.
- Mental/Emotional Health: The Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology notes that unplugging reduces anxiety and depression, improves overall mood, and allows you to be more present and engaged in your immediate environment, which reduces stress levels. Spending time in nature is particularly helpful, says Environmental Health and Preventative Medicine, because it lowers pulse, blood pressure and cortisol.
- Sleep: Exposure to technology’s ever-present blue light throws off our body’s biological clock, cautions Harvard Medical School, which means that sleep suffers. People who go camping without electronics experience improved sleep, because natural cycles of light and darkness regulate circadian rhythms.
- Reconnecting: Disconnect to reconnect. Our devices take our time and attention away from each other and the healthy activities we enjoy – like being outside! Playgrounds and outdoor recreation spaces are incredible ways to reconnect with each other and ourselves through play. Including play events like the Konnection® Swing foster interaction and adding MOVMNT® Electronic Play provides a game experience for people of all ages and abilities to play together – a way to connect and move!
Getting outside and spending time in parks and recreational areas bring a sense of belonging because it centers us in our bodies, in our face-to-face social circles and in the natural world. As we become healthier and more connected, our communities will do the same.
Contact your nearest Burke representative to learn more about how you can incorporate play, movement and connection into the daily lives of your community members.