Summer is Good for the Soul

After getting through a year and a half ‘dark night’, summer is here and it will do your soul good to get out and enjoy all the sun and sand you can stand. I’m in Florida, a place that can seem like summer all year long, but not everyone is blessed enough to live in this region. If you live in a part of the country, or world for that matter, that doesn’t experience as much warmth and sun as Florida, make sure you get out this summer and enjoy all that you can.

Summer is good for the soul for so many reasons. Aside from warmer temps and more sun, most of us have a more laid back attitude in the summer months. Maybe it’s because there is less planning – the kids are out of school and the holidays are less formal than the ones we celebrate in winter months. Spring is all about rebirth and reawakening, but summer is about relaxing and slowing down just a bit – and if that isn’t good for the soul, I don’t know what is. Here are the top reasons summer is good for the soul.

Relaxing – As stated above summer is all about relaxing and that’s good for all of us. We all need to relax and unwind, especially after the year we’ve just had. In the summer months we take more vacations than we do in the winter and they are less stressful than the ones we take in the winter which usually involve traveling to visit family over the holidays. In the summertime travel is usually about being a tourist, or just relaxing at a beach somewhere. We also take longer weekends during the summertime. In fact, many companies have half day work days on Fridays during the summer months.

Vitamin D – During the winter months many of us experience SAD or Season Affective Disorder in part caused by lack of vitamin D provided by sunlight. Shorter days can produce weight gain, lower energy and depression. During the summer months we spend less time on the couch eating comfort food and more time outside soaking up vitamin D (be sure to use sunscreen). Spending even just a few minutes outdoors on a lovely summer day can do wonders to lift a bad mood.

Outside Activities – The days are longer so we end up spending more time outdoors – in the garden, at the ball park, at the beach – instead of at our desks or on the couch. Exercise boosts serotonin which helps to stave off depression, anxiety and weight gain. The more fun we have outdoors the happier we are – and happiness is good for the soul.

Immunity Boost – Because we are exercising more, soaking up vitamin D, and eating better we are likely to keep our immune system strong. This has been a tough year, and we’ve isolated ourselves so boosting our immunity is even more important than ever before.

Eating Better – We eat better in the summer months. We eat lighter and we have access to fresh fruits and vegetables that many of us don’t enjoy all year round. With warm weather comes the desire to eat lighter and lighter usually means healthier.