Eight Safe Places to Get Fresh Air and Sun While Social Distancing
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With the goal of stopping the spread of COVID-19 in mind, staying at home and social distancing has become the new reality for most Americans. Even menial, everyday tasks such as going to the grocery store, filling your car up with gas, and taking public transportation are being frowned upon for fear of spreading the novel coronavirus. But one activity that gets the green light from healthcare officials, so long as you maintain six feet of distance from other individuals, is getting outside for some fresh air. This is good news since research demonstrates that exposure to the great outdoors can benefit a person's health in many ways. "Taking a walk and being in sunlight can improve cardiovascular fitness, enhance mood, and help relieve depressive symptoms," says Rusha Modi, M.D., a physician in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and hepatology and assistant professor of Clinical Medicine at Keck Medical Center of USC. "Sunlight has been shown to help establish circadian rhythms, which can be altered if people are not regularly leaving to go outside, as well as aid in vitamin D production."
Unless you are feeling symptoms of being sick or have been in contact with someone who has, you should absolutely get outdoors during this time of self-isolation. Here are eight safe spaces to enjoy some fresh air and sunlight during shelter-in-place.