These days technology is pervasive. It has given us so many new ways to connect and improved our lives in many ways. It’s a great tool but terrible master (the same can be said for ambition, money and even the intellect). In order to uphold the value of technology as a tool, I find it crucial to remain in control of it. One of the best ways for me to achieve this is through a good dose of vitamin N.

Vitamin N is like any vitamin. You might be able to go without it for a while but eventually, you fall out of balance and your well-being suffers. This is even more important for children considering they are growing so quickly and their bodies and brains are going through vital developmental stages.

As a father of two girls ages 7 and 9, the value of vitamin N has never been more apparent to me.

What is vitamin N?

It’s the essential, or at the very least, a beneficial, factor of nature in our lives. Something that most of us are getting less and less of in the modern world.

I relocated my family from Canada’s largest city, Toronto, to Victoria on Vancouver Island to improve access to the big N and provide my children with a change of environment I believe is better for their upbringing. Prior to the move, we hadn’t camped as a family. That was one year ago. We’ve now spent close to 30 nights out together and this summer isn’t even done.

Admittedly, my wife, Bree, and I had spent many nights camping growing up and prior to having kids. Perhaps, it was our environment in Toronto, the ages of our children or the changes in society more recently but even with our experience it took a relocation to shake us out of this drought.

Richard Louv’s Work on Nature

You don’t need to go camping to access vitamin N or benefit from nature. There are many different and easily accessible strategies to get more nature in your life. Richard Louv’s book, Vitamin N, details 500 ways to make this happen.

Related article: 5 Ways that Natural Light Guides Your Health

Louv originally wrote Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder which delves into the repercussions of children’s disconnect from nature. He then wrote The Nature Principle which fleshes out all the benefits of nature for adult, children and family health and well-being.

Before I read these books, I recognized the value of time unplugged and how childhood can be enriched with nature. Louv’s research and works made it even clearer that all of us can benefit from a healthy dose of vitamin N.

Over the last few years, the imbalance in tech time over outdoor time has really hit home for me. I don’t want my children to miss the opportunities I enjoyed by growing up in a different age.

Related article: 10 Effects of being Unplugged, Bored and Dirty

My Experience with Nature-Deficit Disorder

Without a break and balance from the digital existence that is so enmeshed in our lives, we pay the price. Let me speak from personal experience. In my hiatus from quality time in the great outdoors, I started to suffer from various things.

• Sleep issues
• Eyesight decline
• Too much sedentary time
• Increased baseline stress and less patience
• An unrelenting sense of how much I needed to do
• An unconscious notion that my kids needed more toys or material possessions to be happy
• A disconnect from the geography of the region that I resided in

All these things were cured and other benefits experienced by implementing “the Camping Solution”. Vitamin N is delivered in a wonderful way when you camp. Whether you’ve been out of practice like we were or have never gone, I highly recommend it. There are plenty of ways to ease into it too.

Related article: Recapture Wild Health

By waking up surrounded by nature and spending your whole day outside, nature takes on it’s restorative and life-affirming powers seamlessly. Our family sleeps in tents so we are that much closer to the ground, the clean air and the natural sounds and settings around us. Even if you go out in an RV, a trailer or get a cabin, many of the following benefits are still imparted.

8 Benefits of Vitamin N with the Camping Solution

1. Circadian rhythms are restored to their natural settings – It’s hard to sleep in or stay up too late when you camp. By immediately getting natural light and experiencing the dimming sunlight as the day winds down, our internal clocks start to synch up. Without walls, curtains and constant blue light from screens, achieving natural activity and rest patterns are so much easier.Follow the natural light and your body will do the rest. #getoutside #vitaminN Click To Tweet
2. Eyesight can be improved – I had spent way too much time staring at a phone or computer screen a few inches away from me. This had resulted in a decline in my vision. After reducing blue light exposure AND enjoying the far off views I get out in nature, my eyesight has improved again.  Whether it’s the vista from a mountain peak, hilltop or a view across the water, time looking in the distance is good for the eyes (and the soul). When I look out at the ocean regularly, I can see for miles and miles and miles #vitaminN #thewho Click To Tweet
3. Activity levels are boosted – Through camping, you generally take on more activity. From setting up the site to preparing meals and keeping things organized, you generally are more active. Once you add the increased walking, activities like hiking or paddling, you are likely to be far less sedentary than at home. When there are less chairs, sitting has a hard time becoming the new smoking. #getoutside Click To Tweet
4. Stress is reduced – The Japanese have a term shirin-yoku which means forest bathing. The act of spending time amongst the trees and green has been shown to reduce salivary cortisol (the stress hormone) levels significantly. The wood oils, natural sounds and fresh air, all are great ways to relax and let worries dissipate. A walk in the woods gives you the benefits of green exercise and forest bathing #getoutside #vitaminN Click To Tweet
5. Time slows – When you are away from the multitude of distractions and potential things to do at home, the days seem to be longer and less frantic. Opportunities arise to have deeper conversations, make more keen observations and reflect on what’s important to you. Going camping has been great for bonding more with my wife and kids. It’s also affording me the reward of seeing my daughters become so much more independent and capable. I’m proud of how they can set up a tent themselves, light a fire, get water, clean the dishes and manage the maintenance of the campsite. The Camping Solution breeds mindfulness and gratitude #getoutside #vitaminN Click To Tweet
6. Imagination supersedes material things – I love watching my children make up games with a few pine cones, rocks or shells. They made a driftwood shelter their own and turned it into a “cafe” with a selection of dishes that they offered us. When you get away from all the pre-made toys and entertainment, the mind starts to expand its creativity. As Einstein said: Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world Click To Tweet
7. Feel connected to your region – Many of us don’t really know the natural region we live in. The plants, trees, insects, animals, topography and bodies of water are out of sight and out of mind. Spending time moving through the region and getting comfortable in your campsite is a great way to expose yourself to the intricacies of the natural ecosystem. It can be very rewarding to gain a deeper connection to the part of the world you’re in and you might even gain insights as to the history of people in the region as well.We live in a place for years but how well do we know the land # getoutside #vitaminN Click To Tweet
8. Improved happiness – If everything above doesn’t contribute to a boost in happiness, just taking a break from your regular routine and trying something new is a good way to increase joy. For me, just about any day outside in nature is a good day. Even when the weather is rough and the trail is grueling, the sense of self-reliance and accomplishment brings on a glow of fulfillment on the other side. Sunlight, fresh air, green plants and the sounds of nature are timeless natural antidepressants #getoutside #vitaminn Click To Tweet

There are many more benefits that are experienced through the Camping Solution. I’ll be sharing more details in the future.

Related article: Be Ready for Summer by Tomorrow

Camping is not for you

Now, some of you might just not be into trying camping at all. If that’s the case, I urge you to try spending a couple days without your technology. Arise with the sun, spend the day outside and move around in as natural an environment as you can find. If you get dirty, bonus marks. Wind down in the evening and follow the setting sun to bed.

You’ll replenish your innate human need for vitamin N and enjoy an increase in vitality. Don’t know where to start? Check out the Children and Nature Network’s resource page for taking the #VitaminN challenge.

Related article: How to See the World like a Child and Control Time