Dahon.Steve

I received this email from REI and they said human beings spend 95% of their lives indoors! There's no question in my mind this is a direct result of car dependency. However, unless you're living in the suburbs, a walk into the wild requires a 50 mile drive or more! As a result, we spend most of our lives indoors.

I'll admit that I'm probably at 90% indoors most of my life. If it weren't for public transit and my weekend bike trips, I would be most certainly be at 95% indoors.

Here's are the questions. Does being carfree force you to live an indoor life? What percentage of your life do you think is spent indoors?

noisebeam

Depending on if being in one's own backyard counts I spend ~13% of my time outdoors. I am not car free.

Outdoor breakdown
Cycling: 4.8%
Hiking: 2.4%
Work/errands: 1.3%
Backyard: 4.1%

Maelochs

Unless you are a farmer or do some other job which gets you out of doors ... you work eight hours and sleep eight hours and there's two-thirds right there.

52telecaster

my commute has me outside quite a bit.

350htrr

I would say it's more like, 90% indoors in the winter (-20*C or colder) and 50% in the summer (+20*C or warmer) in the summer... Where I live...

jon c. 

I don't believe that's true. Not remotely.

First world perspective?

Cyclist0108

Almost 95% of statistics are made up on the spot.

350htrr

Hay, that's what I did...

I-Like-To-Bike

Whatever the percentage, the real question is: So What?

tyrion

With Zwift and Amazon grocery deliveries, and with careful planning, we can probably get that up to 98% time indoors.

cooker

It's a public health issue, for one thing. People are pretty aware of the hazards of too much UV exposure damaging skin and increasing the risk of skin cancer, also causing cataracts and so on; but what's less appreciated is that underexposure to sunlight is also linked to a wide range of health problems. In fact underexposure may be a much bigger problem.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/

I-Like-To-Bike

Does that mean that shade trees and forest canopies may be hazardous to our health? Who knew, eh?

Maelochs

if being indoors were inherently unhealthy, wouldn't most of us be dead by now, seeing as we never go out? And suppose we only go out at night?

The populations in extreme southern or northern latitudes wouldn't make it though winter.

indyfabz

Keep in mind that for the first several years of your life you really don't have a choice regarding where you spend your time.


I was fortunate enough to be able to take three extended (between seven weeks and nearly four months) bike trips that involved mostly camping. Constantly being outside in all sorts of weather--from snow to 100+ degree days to humid nights in the mid-80s--is overrated. Try it some time.


Finally, I don't need to drive 50 miles to take a walk in the woods even though I live in the fifth largest city in the U.S. I can hop on my bike, ride maybe 12 miles and do all sorts of wooded hiking, ride single track and even fish for trout.


https://www.fow.org/


Two years ago a bear passed through the area on its way to Delaware for tax-free shopping.

I-Like-To-Bike

Where is that red covered bridge that is shown on the slide show of The Friends of The Wissahickon? I ride on the Forbidden Drive every year during my annual visit to the Area to visit relatives, and never saw it.

Don't get much direct sunshine either while riding on it due to those sunshine hogging trees along the trail, so I make sure that I get my daily Vitamin D from fortified milk on those days.

noisebeam

Do you work outdoors in the summer?
With 8hr sleep, unless done without any shelter, the best one can do is 66%. Add an 8hr 5 day a week indoor workday and then one is at less than 50% outdoors.

Stadjer

It is an issue in the Nordic countries, a mental health issue mostly, but I believe they make sure to go out in the few hours of daylight. I live a bit more to the south, but with only 8 hours of daylight in the winter, I make sure I catch some of it. I believe half an hour is standard doctor's advice here. It's also how I've been raised and what is normal here: go out play on the street, it's not raining hard. Sidewalk cafes are everywhere here, if there's a tiny bit of sun, you have to be in it.

There's probably some ancient wisdom to that, which these days could be useful to countries with more regular daylight, due to working hours and cars.

Maelochs

I don't know about sunlight (despite having seen Seasonal Affect Disorder be invented and then recognized as a serious mental condition,) but I am sure wisdom is always helpful.

Stadjer

The Nordic people have been living with lack of daylight and other outside time for ages, they might know how to deal best with it, allthough heavy drinking used to be one of the remedies.

When I was a student I worked night shifts in december and I after I woke up it was already dark again so I didn't catch any daylight. I know for sure that can't be healthy, I've never had any mental issues before or after but after two weeks I had to quit.

350htrr

Retired...

indyfabz

Rex Avenue, between the Inn and Bells Mills Rd.

I-Like-To-Bike

That explains it, I always ride into the park from Chestnut Hill via Springfield Ave and Valley Green Rd and head towards Center City via Forbidden Drive and and the east River Drive; Rex Avenue is the other way. Next time, this summer I will have to go the other way on Forbidden Drive to see the bridge. Thanks.

Dahon.Steve

That's a pretty high percentage spent outdoors. I figure unless your job requires you to work outdoors, it's a strong possibility you spend most of your life indoors.

Dahon.Steve

That's a good question. It's quite possible REI did this to make us feel guilty and spend money on their products so we can expand the time we spend outdoors.

Still, it made me think that maybe I'm spending too much time on the internet!

Dahon.Steve

LOL!