Get Outside
MEDICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE
Giddy up for a new month.
Perhaps because I was born in October—and maybe because I crave candy corn, sweater weather, and any excuse to move past that God-awful debate on Tuesday night—I was actually glad to turn the page today.
(During the pandemic, I also relish crossing days off my paper calendar with a red Sharpie. Getting through another day feels like a small victory. Lower-case “yay”??)
Anyhoo, it’s getting colder. Which means more time indoors. Which means more opportunity for person-to-person spread of coronavirus and other contagious critters.
What the hell are we supposed to do?? How do we keep our bodies and minds healthy in the coming chilly months?
We’ve GOT to maintain sanity and simultaneously protect ourselves from illness.
We need a game plan, we need some fun, and we need new (legal) ways to decompress.
It’s time to PREP FOR COLD WEATHER.
We’ve all heard the negative forecast for a dire winter season. We all know about the dangers of hobnobbing indoors with coronavirus.
It’s quite clear how this virus is transmitted: through larger respiratory droplets that fall to the ground within six feet of our faces AND via aerosols, the smaller particles that hang in the air for longer and can be inhaled more easily when indoors and up close to an infected person.
This knowledge about transmission is the rationale for the long-held recommendation to LAYER risk mitigation elements on top of one another. In other words, to significantly reduce your risk for getting COVID, mask-wearing alone is not sufficient. Masks work beautifully to block transmission of larger particles (and, indeed, if everyone in the country were to wear a mask we’d be in a much better position). But truly mitigating COVID risk means wearing a mask AND distancing six feet from others AND spending time outdoors where the natural breeze carries viral particles away.
And the great outdoors has been our friend for months! We’ve been enjoying nature’s ability to whisk away viral particles as we walk, jog, bike, hike, and PLOP our pandemic-weary bodies on lounge chairs outside to enjoy the company of loved ones and friends. Nature has been our best pandemic pal.
So what are some simple solutions to enjoying life during the chillier weather?
Bundle up. As my outdoorsy friends always say, “There’s no such thing as bad weather; there’s only bad outerwear.” This week my kids and I dug out our winter coats, hats, scarves, and mittens as we look ahead to layering up outside.
Invest in an outdoor heater (like this one) or fire pit. As long as you stay six feet apart, you can socialize outside with neighbors and friends without too much worry. Do you have to wear a mask if you’re outdoors and six feet apart from friends? Ideally, yes. Is the risk high? Not if you truly adhere to the rules. But are you likely to congregate around the cheese platter and forget the six feet rule once the hot toddies are flowing? Perhaps. Remember that even if you’re outside, talking, laughing, and canoodling without a mask closer than six feet from other people significantly increases the risk for viral transmission.
Plant some seeds of FUN on your calendar. We need to break up the upcoming BRICK of winter with zippy cold-weather outdoor activities. Think cross-country skiing, hiking, ice-skating, and outdoor fort-building. To me, the mere acts of planning and anticipating a fun activity are pleasurable! Call a household meeting, drum up enthusiasm for forced family fun, and mark the calendar in red pen!
Try winter camping. Even in your backyard, roasting marshmallows, making s’mores, and telling ghost stories can be more interesting than sitting inside watching bad TV or scrolling through Instagram. And if you simply can’t tear yourself away from screens, try projecting a movie outside! There’s nothing like a bedsheet strung up on an exterior wall playing family classics like 1988’s The Great Outdoors with John Candy, Dan Akroyd and Annette Benning.
Get moving. One way to stay warm is to exercise. Daily movement is essential for our mental and physical health. Plus, exercising in nature beautifully counteracts the stress and emotional toll of sitting indoors on screens in artificial light. Human beings are meant to be outside a heck of a lot more than modern life allows. Not to mention that indoor gyms aren’t so safe in the pandemic. This morning a patient informed me of a nifty concept called WALKTOBER. Check it out, layer your outerwear, and make this fall an active one!
And last: in case you missed it, here’s my LIVE Q & A with Dr. Clay Ackerly from earlier this week. We had a great time answering your COVID questions and riffing on the pandemic in general.
I will check in next week. Until then, be well.