Exercise and nature

Exercise releases endorphins, which improve your mood and reduce stress. Regular exercise improves sleep quality and helps you fall asleep faster. It also supports your memory and concentration, promoting brain health. Your brain loves exercise!

In addition, exercise makes your bones and muscles stronger, improves your balance and reduces the risk of falling. Exercise improves the cardiovascular function, lowers your blood pressure, and reduces the risk of heart diseases. It also helps you manage your weight and keep your physical wellbeing in balance. A higher metabolic rate helps control the blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Research shows that spending ten minutes in nature can lower the respiratory rate, pulse and blood pressure and reduce the amount of stress hormones in your body. In nature, your body and mind can recover from the stressful aspects of your everyday life. In addition, spending time in nature can improve your mood and reduce anxiety, boost concentration, and reinforce your immune system. 

Adding physical activity to your everyday life can improve your health and wellbeing significantly. Start by taking small steps and making exercise a normal part of your everyday life. Walk short distances, do the chores and remember to take breaks from sitting and stretch throughout the day.  

Set yourself realistic goals that suit you. You can start with smaller goals and then gradually do harder challenges. You will enjoy an activity more if you are having fun. You can exercise alone or together with other people. Take advantage of your environment! Local nature, forests, parks and waters offer great exercise opportunities for free. 

Vantaa and Kerava offer various opportunities to engage in physical activity. Explore the cities’ fitness services and outdoor activity offering! 

In Vantaa and Kerava, nature is always close by. In addition to beauty, the forests, parks, waters and fields offer health benefits. Nature is an important and proven source of wellbeing and health. Nature is free and accessible. And sometimes spending time in nature just happens naturally. 

The healing impacts of nature are particularly significant in an urban environment, where the greenery balances out the noise, rush and stimuli of city life. You do not always have to be outdoors to enjoy nature – simply looking out the window, seeing photos or videos of nature or taking care of indoor plants can be calming. 

The Neuvokas perhe website offers many practical tips for families who want to become more active. The website has tips for both indoor and outdoor activities and it gives suggestions for incorporating movement into families’ everyday lives. These include spending time in playgrounds and forests and transforming the living room into a circus! The website encourages families to find ways to move and enjoy physical activity together. 

These websites help you stay active and maintain your functional ability. Learn more and find enjoyable activities to do at home, outdoors or with others.

Check out the service guide for senior citizens! The guide compiles all the social and health care services in the Wellbeing Services County of Vantaa and Kerava as well as services for senior citizens provided by the cities of Vantaa and Kerava and other service providers.

As we age, maintaining our balance and muscular strength is particularly important to prevent falling. Regular exercise, such as chair workouts, walking or water exercise, helps keep the body strong and improves balance. A balanced diet, sufficient rest and sleep, good shoes, and necessary modifications to one’s living environment can reduce the risk of falling.

Check the links below for more tips for preventing falling.