Spring represents renewal because of the changes happening outdoors. For many, it’s also a time of increased freedom. People don’t have to bundle in thick winter coats to enjoy time outside.
Spring provides a mental health boost for some seniors and challenges for others. Whether your senior loved one lives in an Arizona nursing home or is ready to move to an Arizona assisted living facility, they can benefit from spending time outdoors in the spring. Let’s look at some of the mental health challenges the elderly face and how spending time outside in spring improves their mental health.
How Does the Change of Seasons, Particularly Spring, Impact Seniors’ Mental Health?
Many people experience depression when seasons change. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is commonly associated with winter, but for a tenth of Americans, spring and summer trigger SAD. Considering the U.S. 2024 population exceeded 345 million, that means more than 34.5 million Americans struggle with depression during spring and summer.
Seniors struggling with SAD may experience the following symptoms:
- Feeling hopeless
- Feeling worthless
- Lack of energy
- Listlessness
- Overeating
- Oversleeping
- Sadness
- Suicidal ideation
- Trouble concentrating
- Weight gain
For some, spring’s arrival can boost their mood. For others, it can trigger depression. Since 14% of Americans over the age of 59 have ongoing mental health issues, such as depression, seasonal changes could amplify ongoing mental health problems and create more challenges for seniors than other age groups.
Why Is Spending Time Outdoors Important for Seniors’ Mental Health in Spring?
Spending time outdoors can counter the effects of SAD and depression because it helps reduce cortisol levels. Since cortisol triggers physical symptoms of stress, such as an elevated heart rate and high blood pressure, which can trigger or amplify feelings of depression, lowering cortisol levels can reduce stress.
Fresh air also prompts the body to produce dopamine and serotonin, which boosts mood. Thus, spending time outdoors and breathing fresh air can help reduce or prevent depression.
What Specific Outdoor Activities Are Beneficial for Seniors During Spring?
Breathing fresh air is enough to deliver some mental health benefits for seniors in spring; however, there are also outdoor activities that seniors can engage in to improve their mood. These activities include the following:
- Gardening: Gardening is a low-impact activity that helps reduce stress and lowers blood pressure. It also boosts the immune system. Some seniors with chronic health issues can improve their health by gardening, reducing the risk of depression caused by illness.
- Meditate: Meditating can reduce stress levels, improve your sleep, and in some cases, prevent depression.
- Picnic: Enjoying a picnic outdoors with friends can reduce feelings of social isolation while delivering the health benefits of enjoying fresh air.
- Walking: Walking is a low-impact exercise that helps control weight and maintain bone strength, making it less likely that you’ll develop osteoporosis. Like all physical activities, walking boosts your mood by prompting your body to release endorphins.
Other activities seniors can enjoy outdoors in spring include the following:
- Bird watching
- Going to a farmer’s market
- Outdoor concerts and community events
- Photography
- Picking fruit
- Stargazing
Elderly adults can experience the social benefits of outdoor time by enjoying these activities with friends or family.
How Does Vitamin D From Sunlight Impact Seniors’ Mental Health?
Sunlight tells your body to produce vitamin D, which prompts your body to produce serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin is known for improving your mood, but it can also regulate body functions and make it easier to sleep. Melatonin also helps you sleep. Since sleep deprivation can exacerbate symptoms of depression, regulating your sleep can prevent depression or reduce its severity.
What Mental Health Challenges or Conditions Do Seniors Commonly Face That Outdoor Activities Can Alleviate?
Mental health challenges or conditions seniors face include the following:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Dementia
- Isolation
- Loneliness
- Stress
Those with dementia benefit because time outdoors can improve their cognitive functions and memory.
How Does Exposure to Nature Improve Mood and Reduce Stress in Seniors?
Outdoor time can help alleviate anxiety, depression, and stress in seniors because fresh air and sunshine help reduce stress. Lowering stress levels promotes feelings of well-being and reduces the risk of depression. Vitamin D from exposure to sunshine also reduces anxiety.
How Can Spending Time Outdoors Combat Feelings of Isolation and Loneliness in Seniors?
Spending time outdoors can help seniors make friends and combat loneliness by allowing them to meet people with shared interests. It also increases seniors’ proximity to living things, such as plants, birds, and animals, alleviating feelings of isolation.
Does Physical Activity Play a Role in Enhancing Mental Well-Being for Seniors?
Enjoying regular physical activity is one of the most important mental health tips for seniors to embrace, as exercise triggers your body to release endorphins. Endorphins deliver the following benefits:
- Boost cognitive functions
- Boost your self-esteem
- Decrease anxiety
- Improve memory
- Manages appetite
- Reduce pain
- Reduce stress
- Strengthen immune system
Exercise also helps seniors with respiratory issues because it strengthens their lungs. Regular exercises seniors can enjoy include walking, dancing, and playing mini golf.
What Are the Long-Term Mental Health Benefits of Regular Outdoor Activity for Seniors?
Outdoor activity provides both short and long-term mental health benefits for seniors. In the short term, seniors benefit from vitamin D production and the dopamine and serotonin production triggered by exposure to fresh air.
In the long term, seniors benefit from reducing stress levels because stress increases the risks of heart disease and stroke. Lowering stress levels reduces blood pressure, which can help prevent heart attacks. These physical benefits can help seniors with health concerns reduce their anxiety and enjoy optimal health. Staying active also helps seniors manage their weight and improve their sleep, which helps prevent health problems and improves their quality of life. All of these things then help prevent depression and anxiety.
How Can You Help Your Senior Loved One Benefit From Time Outdoors?
It can be challenging to support your senior loved one as they age, particularly if you work full-time and are raising a family. Moving your loved one to an assisted living facility in Arizona can help because the staff provides outdoor spaces and activities suitable for seniors. Your loved one can engage in daily activities that help them enjoy all the benefits of spending time outdoors.
How Haven Health Can Help
When your senior loved one moves to a Haven Health assisted living facility in Arizona, you can be confident they are in good hands. Haven Health is the best choice for assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing care, and other services designed for seniors. Our highly qualified staff team addresses residents’ emotional, mental, and physical needs and provides an environment where they can thrive.
Support your senior loved one by contacting Haven Health today and discovering how we can help them thrive.
Sources
Berry, J., et al. (2024). What to know about endorphins.
Mental health of older adults. (2023).
The Cruelest Month: Spring Can Trigger Depression in Seniors. (2025).
United States Population (2025). (2025).