Natural Ways Your Family Can Stay Healthy This Summer

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Warmer weather is on its way, and summer is a season that has many people focused on staying or getting healthy. You and your family can enjoy a number of pursuits and pastimes that will improve your fitness and increase your healthy habits this year. Here are three of the best ways to build habits together as a family.

1. Take on a Gardening Project

This can be as large or small as you want, so never be intimidated. It doesn’t matter whether you live in a city or out in the country, either, since a little outdoor space can be filled with individual planters to make a lovely garden. The important thing is to get the kids and your spouse involved. Having projects that center around being outside is the first step to enjoying greater health.

Skill level is quite irrelevant, especially if you have small children. Researching together can be a fun bonding activity as you decide which types of flower or food to plant. You’ll be able to learn together. You may want to take a bit of time to read for yourself if you have small children, since their attention spans can be limited and quite limiting. However, this means you’ll have a smaller selection of plants and flowers to present them with, which will make their part easier. If you have older children, this can be a part of an informal lesson, introducing them to the variety that blossoms in your region.

Then, get planting. Soil microbes have been shown to improve your mood. So, whether you’re a novice or a master, getting into the dirt is a great way to leaven your emotions. Sunlight in moderation is responsible for the production of serotonin, one of the chief neurotransmitters responsible for healthy moods, and the physical activity involved in planting and caring for a garden releases dopamine. It also positively impacts your gut microflora over time.

2. Explore Farther Afield

Camping and hiking are two of the best ways to improve your health as a family. First, there’s the planning and excitement of going somewhere new or to see new aspects of familiar space. This in itself is something that, until recently, was often overlooked. The inclusion of unexpected sights and unfamiliar environments is vital to everyone’s mental health.

Then, there’s the physical aspect of camping or day hiking. This is good for you on every level. First, it promotes the use of muscle groups not usually required in our daily lives, and increases circulation. In turn, the enhanced circulation is good for muscles, gut microflora, and mood.

Plus, you need not rough it unless you wish. For example, PA state park campsites and those in the region run the gamut from the idyllic tent camping experience to glamping. There’s even a secluded bed and breakfast with hiking nearby. You can enjoy everything from swimming and rafting to playing Eye Spy with the kids and local wildlife. There are so many healthy activities, you’ll have to pace yourself

3. Find Creative Ways to Include More Fruits and Vegetables

Summertime is usually when kids are away from school, whether they’ve gone to classes or attended virtual learning. As such, it’s a relatively unstructured time that can lead to excessive snacking, and there’s not much you can do about that in itself. However, you can find ways to include healthier snacks. The important thing is to keep it varied; one week they will love bananas and the next they won’t be interested.

Having whole fruits on hand and in plain sight is the first step. While you can have the less healthy foods, don’t display them or make them the first choice. Having a bowl of apples, tangerines, and other types of fruit to appeal to their fickle appetites is a great way to encourage their habits. Celery and carrots in the fridge, ready to go, often satisfy the roving eyes of children, you, and your spouse, since you may not be hungry at all.

What’s important is that everyone gets on the bandwagon—you and your spouse included. Try new vegetables and fruits in your main meals as well. If your family isn’t particularly adventurous, try a single new thing each meal or sneak it into favorite dishes.

Conclusion

There are many ways to include healthier habits in your routine this summer, but these are three of the best. Plus, there’s always an element of adventure in each of them. What’s next? Find out together.