If you feel down, have poor physical health, or have lost that close connection with family members or friends, then you do not always need a radical solution. Spending time in the open air might be all your need, and there is no better excuse to get outside than for alfresco dining.
Eating outdoors more often has many proven benefits, but let’s face it, food just tastes better when you are breathing in the fresh air and sitting under a blue sky. It doesn’t have to be a full-on spread or BBQ either. Your alfresco dining could simply be eating your lunch in a park or enjoying a mini-picnic with your childrens garden furniture in your garden.
With garden dining sets positioned on a patio or deck, you have every reason and opportunity to break up your day and refocus your mind, ready for the second half of your today.
So, what are the specific benefits of alfresco dining?
Improve Your Mental Health
There is nothing quite like spring, summer, and autumn sunshine to improve your mood and lower your anxiety. By choosing alfresco dining, you will reduce your stress level and ease feelings of depression. Spending time outdoors is also believed to lower your blood pressure and heart rate and alleviate muscle tension.
A TV dinner does little in the way of creating strong family bonds. However, alfresco dining increases social interactions, bringing family and friends closer together. You just need to turn off the TV to start a conversation.
Spending time outdoors is proven to improve your ability to concentrate. It inspires creativity by engaging your senses as you enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of nature and the outdoors.
Impact On Your Physical Health
Sunshine on your skin boosts your vitamin D levels, which is linked to healthy bone development and keeping your bones and teeth strong and healthy. Vitamin D gives your immune system a boost, and it is believed to play a crucial role in protecting you from cancer, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease.
You only need to get fifteen to twenty minutes of sunshine on your skin to boost your body’s vitamin D production. If the weather is decidedly grey and the sun isn’t shining, you can add eggs and oily fish such as sardines or mackerel to your alfresco dining experience to get a similar boost in vitamin D.
The outdoors will re-energise you, which can easily encourage you to get more exercise, be that gardening, playing football, or swing ball in your backyard. Exercise lowers your risks of major illnesses such as stroke, heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
Need more proof? According to NHS Livewell, you can lower your risk of early death by around 30%. A study by the Harvard School of Health showed that patients heal faster, experience less pain, and took fewer pain killers when they spent time outdoors.
To take your alfresco dining experience to the next level, take a look at our outdoor dining sets made from beautiful Swedish redwood. For more information contact our team today.