Last month, Kaiser Permanente rolled out its “Wellbeing 365: Stress Less & Thrive” initiative in partnership with the city of Santa Monica, which simultaneously revealed the results of the city’s most recent Wellbeing survey.
Through the partnership, Kaiser Permanente and the city produced a series of short videos, in English and in Spanish, that offer tips and advice from many of Kaiser Permanente’s medical professionals on how Santa Monicans can improve wellbeing in the different parts of their lives.
Throughout the month of October, Kaiser Permanente has been promoting its “Planet & Place” video, which highlights the importance of the natural environment in staying healthy, keeping stress down, and getting the recommended amount of weekly exercise.
The video (above) features former Santa Monica Mayor and octogenarian Nat Trives and Kaiser Permanente West L.A. family practitioner Dr. Linda Mirdamadi. Mirdamadi highlights the importance of staying active and spending time outdoors.
In the video, Mirdamadi emphasizes the importance of building exercise into your daily routine, pointing out that one way to get the recommended two-and-half hours of exercise a week is to use public transit, walk, or bike.
“There are many health benefits to being outdoors. Fresh air, for example, cleans the lungs and helps to bring more oxygen to our body’s cells,” Kaiser Permanente officials said. “Sunlight is another benefit. While we don’t want too much exposure to the sun, as that can increase the risk for cancer, the sun offers many great benefits. The sun helps us absorb Vitamin D, a vitamin that many of us are deficient in, but one that is very important bone health and metabolic function.”
In fact, Kaiser Permanente experts noted that “exposure to sunlight can also help us sleep better at night, improve our immune function and increase the production of endorphins.”
And with Santa Monica having such an abundance of outdoor spaces, like beaches, parks and hiking trails, getting outside to help reduce stress is easy.
Disclosure: Kaiser Permanente contributed to Santa Monica Next’s coverage of wellbeing issues in Santa Monica. Kaiser Permanente does not have editorial control over Next’s coverage of this topic or any other topic.
