{"id":687378,"date":"2026-06-06T05:27:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/687378\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T05:27:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:27:41","slug":"summer-challenge-get-outdoors-and-touch-grass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/687378\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Challenge: Get Outdoors and \u2018Touch Grass\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Touch Grass Challenge<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s log off and head outside.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the first week of our summer challenge, which encourages you to \u201ctouch grass\u201d \u2014 or in other words, to put down your phone and reconnect with the real world.<\/p>\n

Every week in June, we\u2019re sending you an evidence-based exercise that will encourage you to step away from your screen.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re anything like me, you\u2019re a little worried about the hours you while away indoors and on your phone. More than half of U.S. adults<\/a> say that they are on their devices too much. We also spend around 90 percent<\/a> of our time inside.<\/p>\n

Get this challenge by email. You will also receive the weekly Well newsletter, with guidance to help you live your healthiest life. Get it in your inbox.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. John La Puma, an internist and author of \u201cIndoor Epidemic,\u201d calls these moments we\u2019re on our phones \u201cultraprocessed time,\u201d because they don\u2019t replenish us. Much like ultraprocessed food, he told me, ultraprocessed time is \u201cengineered for convenience, compulsion and stimulation, not for nourishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But we don\u2019t need to eliminate every second we pass scrolling on TikTok. Instead, we should add some leafy \u201cgreens\u201d to our proverbial plates \u2014 by getting out into green spaces.<\/p>\n

Research suggests that being outdoors, even for short periods, can improve your health<\/a> in many ways, among them reduced stress, better mood and higher levels of focus and memory.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s get outside, together. Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/ Swap in some green time.<\/p>\n

For our first exercise, you\u2019ll commit to spending 20 minutes a day in nature \u2014 not just this week but throughout the month of June.<\/p>\n

Why? A landmark<\/a> study of nearly 20,000 subjects found that when people spent at least 120 minutes in nature a week, they reported significantly higher levels of health and well-being. That\u2019s 17 minutes a day.<\/p>\n

Any quieter patch of green will do, such as a small park or a canopy of street trees, Dr. La Puma said. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to be in a forest to get benefits,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/ Take a look at your schedule.<\/p>\n

Check your calendar every morning and find two 10-minute slots of time that you can spend outside, said Manoush Zomorodi, author of \u201cBody Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being.\u201d (Or find one 20-minute slot if that works better.)<\/p>\n

You can step outdoors first thing in the morning and listen to the birds, said Megan Delaney, who studies the effects of nature on mental health at Monmouth University. If you live in a city, Dr. Delaney added, take a walk and notice nature in unlikely places, \u201csuch as ivy on the wall, a dandelion popping out of the sidewalk,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t think you can fit 20 minutes into your schedule, take a look at the amount of time you actually spend on your phone. (Here are instructions for iPhone<\/a> and Android<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Does the number surprise you? Mine shocked me: On a Sunday when I wasn\u2019t working, I had somehow racked up four hours. If you have a similar reaction, you can probably find 20 minutes for a nature fix.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/ Leave your phone at home (if you can).<\/p>\n

All the experts recommended heading out into green spaces without your phone, which delivers more health benefits. If you must bring your device, they said, try to keep it turned off.<\/p>\n

If you are a caregiver or someone who cannot leave the house, Dr. La Puma said, stepping onto your front steps, a fire escape or into the backyard counts. \u201cAll you need is a patch of sky,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Heading outside without your phone or earbuds can be a mental reset, said Marc Berman, an environmental neuroscientist at the University of Chicago and author of \u201cNature and the Mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nature offers a sort of \u201csoft fascination<\/a>,\u201d gently capturing your attention without depleting you, he said. You might, for example, watch tree leaves rustle or hear water flowing downstream. These sights and sounds, Dr. Berman said, free your mind and allow for reflection.<\/p>\n

Even though abandoning your phone might make you anxious, Dr. Berman suggests giving it a try. People routinely underestimate<\/a> how much they\u2019re going to like being in a natural environment, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou very rarely hear somebody say, \u2018You know, I really regret going for that walk in nature,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So get out there, and tune into your senses \u2014 feel the wind, gaze at the curiously-shaped clouds drifting overhead, Dr. Delaney suggested.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re able to keep up this habit through the end of the month, we\u2019ll be cheering you on \u2014 and sending you three more exercises throughout June.<\/p>\n

At the end of each day, notice how you feel after adding more \u201cgreens\u201d and cutting back on \u201cultraprocessed time\u201d: Are you less stressed than you normally would be? Do you feel better, physically or mentally? Tell us in the comments!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost summer. Put your phone down. Go outside. <\/p>\n

To kick off Well\u2019s summer challenge, we\u2019re asking you to make a simple commitment that can improve your health.<\/p>\n

For the next month, you\u2019ll carve out 20 minutes daily to step away from your screen and head outdoors.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m in! \"An <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve joined readers to pledge a total of<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

minutes of screen-free time. Congratulations!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Touch Grass Challenge Let\u2019s log off and head outside. Welcome to the first week of our summer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[24429,188822,97,188823,3053,96458],"class_list":["post-687378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-content-type-service","tag-habits-and-routines-behavior","tag-health","tag-medicine-and-health","tag-smartphones","tag-vis-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}