Ways To Boost Your Mood by Maximizing How Many Steps You Take Every Day

The #1 thing I have learned while hauling a travel nurse around the country is to make sure she experiences the activities she enjoys, in new environments, while on foot. It probably has more to do with just getting her out of the apartment than anything else, and there’s no easier time to do it than springtime!

What Makes Us Active During The Springtime?

During spring, the Earth tilts toward the Sun. This means the days get longer and warmer. Plants begin to grow, everything greens up, and suddenly we find ourselves wanting to be in the sunlight. Have you ever wondered why we feel pulled to go outside in spring?

I think these emotions are our bodies telling us that they need activity. We were designed to walk several miles each day as a part of our normal routine. It’s how we lived before advancements in agriculture and technology automated our daily struggles. There seems to be a relationship between depression and an active lifestyle. When one goes up the other goes down.

Being Active As A Travel Nurse

Our ancestors used to spend seven hours each day hunting, gathering, and preparing food. In their world, they couldn’t simply drive their car to the grocery store, have some kid load it all up, and stop off at McDonalds on the way home for a quick snack. This is why I have begun increasingly finding new ways to make “my” travel nurse walk everywhere she can.

Here is a list of some of the methods I use to get her walking:

• We walk two miles at the park every day after her shift.
• We take a four-mile weekly nature hikes in nearby state parks.
• I purchased her a nice camera as an excuse to go sightseeing more often.
• We require apartments on the top floor for stair climbing (and noise).
• I park the car a long ways away from any stores we visit.
• We walk completely through the mall when we go shopping. Sometimes twice.
• We only buy groceries for a couple days, so we go much more often.

An Active Lifestyle is Important For Travel Nurses!

It is important for travelers to do more on assignment than simply work for 13 weeks, and I find that my nurse is much happier when she’s out and about on foot, seeing the world. Her mood deteriorates if she sits inside for too long.

Good memories come from an active lifestyle. They are also sharper and will stick with you longer if you capture your adventures in photos or even video. It certainly makes you more interesting when you tell the story!

Any time you’re sitting around and start feeling restless or bored, take that as a good indication that your body wants to become mobile.

Emotional walking is something we should all indulge. Just remember to live in the moment and not power through it without looking around. It’ll make you happy.

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