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Let’s face it, stress is simply a part of today’s fast-paced lifestyle. However, stepping out into your backyard and enjoying the fresh air and natural environment is a good step toward reducing some of the pressure that comes with everyday living. Elements Home has four product categories that can upgrade your outdoor living space and enhance your ability to relax and increase your overall wellbeing.

Why Go Outside?

You may be thinking, why should I go outside when I have everything I want inside my house, where it’s temperature-controlled and comfortable? Well, there is scientific research that illustrates embracing biophilic design—design that reconnects us with nature—is another way to reduce stress, enhance cognitive function and creativity, improve our well-being, and expedite healing. While quiet walks in the woods, long hikes, and camping trips to commune with nature are wonderful, these may not be practical for everyone. However, the simple act of spending some time right outside the backdoor can go a long way to reduce stress and provide a greater overall sense of health and well-being.

#1 Get Your Hands Dirty

Gardening, planting, and digging in the dirt offers many health benefits. Bending down, moving plants around, and digging holes provides some aerobic exercise, burns calories, and benefits the heart. Gardening also reduces stress by allowing you to focus your mind on the task at hand and forget about other troubles and challenges. Once you nurture your plants and see them grow, there comes a sense of accomplishment and a boost of self-esteem. Finally, surrounding yourself with the beauty of lush greenery or colorful flowers puts your mind at ease and allows you to further relax. Elements Home has a variety of planter bowls, both Artisan Cast Stone Round or Square, that make beautiful planters that can be filled with bright flowers, herbs, or greenery to add to your landscape. Get into your backyard and start gardening today.

#2 Warm Up to a Fire

The dancing flames and snap, crackle, pop of a fire actually relaxes us, helping to reduce daily worries and stress-inducing thoughts—it even lowers blood pressure. Since humans are social creatures, we have the need for connection to be happy and healthy. A fire provides a gathering place for friends and family to come together and in our relaxed state we are more likely to create positive conversation, find common interests, and help other people. Relaxing, reducing stress, and connecting all make for a good reason to add a fire pit to your backyard. Elements Home has Fire Pit kits for wood that provide a place for family and friends to come together on cold nights. If you are interested in a gas Fire Pit kit, see visit Belgard, another member of our family of brands. In addition, S’mores make people happy. While there is not scientific research to back it up, we suggest installing your own fire pit and conducting your own research on the matter.

#3 Cook a Great Meal

Much like gardening, preparing a delicious meal for family or friends can take your mind off the stress of your job or other challenges and put your energy into making the best dish possible. Move your cooking outside and you get a double stress reliever. Elements Home has just about everything you need to build the perfect outdoor kitchen. Many people love the convenience of a gas grill that fires up immediately and heats quickly, and Elements Home has two from which to choose. Other home chefs love charcoal grills like the Elements Home Blue Diamond Smoker that smokes and grills so you can cook anything from chicken and pulled pork, to seafood and veggies. If you really want to step up your game, check out Elements Home’s additional accessories like an outdoor oven or griddle to handle just about any kind of cooking style you want to bring to the table.

#4 Sweat it Out 

Saunas have been around for years. You’ve probably used one on vacation or at the gym after a workout and know the relaxing feeling of this dry heat. Imagine having access to your own sauna right in your backyard. Elements Home has partnered with Redwood Outdoors to provide customers with the USA’s best saunas. Saunas help with relaxation, stress management, detoxification, improved cardiovascular function, and more. Redwood Outdoors can also help you take your health to the next level with a cold plunge tub or ice water bath chiller. Cold water immersion may help you recover after high intensity workouts and reduce inflammation. Many people swear by the one-two punch of hot sauna and cold plunge to help with their overall well-being.

We hope that you can take some of these ideas and add relaxing outdoor activities to one of the ways you help reduce stress. Ultimately, preventing and managing long-term stress can lower your risk for conditions such as heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and depression. Whether you use some kind of wellness activities outside or inside, we urge you to relax and unplug doing whatever brings you happiness.