Mumsnet users share with VELUX what think of the time they spend indoors and the "indoor generation"

[JustineBMumsnet]

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It’s no secret that spending time outside getting fresh air and daylight is beneficial for a variety of reasons. A new study by VELUX showed that people spend more time inside than they realise – often spending 90% of their time indoors, and they’d like to hear your thoughts on this.

Here’s what Grant Sneddon, Velux daylight expert has to say: “Whether we’re at home, in work or school or even commuting, we spend most of our time inside poorly lit and ventilated spaces. Why is this interesting? Well, if we’re spending most of our time indoors then it means we’re not getting enough fresh air and daylight, which can affect our sleep, mood and productivity. But there are simple ways to get the health benefits of natural daylight and fresh air in the home such as opening your windows three to four times a day to allow fresh air in."

How much time do you think you spend indoors? What do you think of the claims that we’ve become an indoor generation? Do you have tips for ensuring your family gets the benefits of daylight and fresh air while you’re spending time indoors?

All who post sharing their thoughts or tips below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

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loads because i love being in my house however I love to take the kids out and about int he park, the countryside

How much time do you think you spend indoors? I like to get the children out daily. Some days, more than others! We usually go out for half a day on average during the holidays and spend the remainder indoors.

What do you think of the claims that we’ve become an indoor generation? I'd say technology has played a part in that but I make sure this is limited to an hour a day, no more.

Do you have tips for ensuring your family gets the benefits of daylight and fresh air while you’re spending time indoors? Even if it's just a walk to the shop or post box, get out for a bit each day. It doesn't need to cost much.

we spend quite a lot of time indoors an weather isnt great where we stay but when its nice we make the most of it

I'm outside for around 2 hours every day in term time - not so much in school holidays. My teenage DD spends most of her time inside so this question has really made me think about how 'indoorsy' we have become.

During the winter we are indoors quite a bit as the weather can be nasty near the coast, in the summer we are outdoors most of the time.

I think I'm in a rut when the kids are at school I feel like I'm forever inside even in the summer months. I tend to go out in the school holidays as its thinking about the kids but when they are at school sadly I dont think of myself that much so end up confined to the home.

i spend far to much time indoors watching tv

90% indoors isn't as extreme as it first sounds. With walking to/from school and a daily walk of 45-60 mins, I must be outdoors for nearly 3 hours. This is more than most people I know but it's still only 12.5% of the day!

We spend as much time as possible outdoors, either in the garden or walking the dogs.

Get a rescue dog then you'll be guaranteed to spend time outdoors in all weathers

I think we have become a generation of people who stay indoors and its sad. I always encourage my children to play out with their friends. as a family we like to spend a lot of time outdoors even if its to the local park.

far too much time is spent inside nowadays . Its so hard to get older children out and about. My 4 year old loves being outdoors though

been inside far too much recently...it's been way too hot to be outdoors with my baby but I've really missed being down the beach every day like I would have been back before I was a Mummy

We spend a few days a week being mostly outdoors but then often spend at least one day a week not going out at all!

We try and be outside as much as possible - we cycle, run and outdoor swim, plus have dogs who get walked. And then theres just being in the garden to eat, talk to the chickens, or play with the dogs

I do an awful lot of cleaning so I am inside a lot so I do worry about inhaling all the chemicals, so I do try and make sure I get outside for an hours walk a day

I love being outdoors, weather permitting. I rent a small first floor flat with my daughter, no garden, so when not stuck at home tend to go out or the local park. Not much of a view either - concrete car park - really miss having a garden or view of greenery tbh. When it's colder I tend to have to keep curtains shut to retain heat. So when we have time together I normally plan to go out as much of the day as possible. My workplace also has limited windows, so a lot of bad artificial light also encourages me to spend more time 'out' when not at work and have my daughter with me, just to also avoid it being so depressing and cooped up.

Hardly anytime. We are either out doing something like walking, cycling or at the park and even when at home we live in the garden.

I love getting out in the fresh air as much as possible but, as Velux have found, we do still spend a lot of time in our homes. I do worry that houses are almost hermetically sealed nowadays and with all the chemicals in our furnishings, carpets and the household products we use, I feel it is important to open windows as often as possible to let the fresh air in.

Even though our living room and bedrooms get lots of daylight in all day, I still have concerns that people may not realise they may not be getting enough daylight to stimulate vitamin D absorption so I try to encourage my family to spend, at the very least, 20 minutes outdoors, especially my other half who works indoors all day, and commutes by car where the windows act as a filter and mean even though he thinks he's getting plenty of daylight, he's not getting the full benefits.

My double glazing is over 25 years old now and not all of the windows can be opened but I can't afford to fix or replace them and it does concern me I'm not getting as good an airflow through my home as I should.

during the colder months we do spend a lot of time indoors, but even then will try and sit outside for a cuppa, But during the warmer months we are outside constantly

We definitely spend more time indoors nowadays in comparison to previous generations. Just look at these kids playing online games or scrolling through Facebook all day whereas in the past kids would be playing ball outside or meeting with their “real” friends. We live in a completely different times. It probably doesn’t help that it rains most of the year 😂

We are definitely an indoor generation. Even tho a lot of us would like to be outside more, its not always possible. From working indoors to the weather being bad, there are plenty of reasons to stay in. I personally just try to make plans to do certain activities outside every week and stick to doing them.

Since we got a dog a few weeks ago we have started going out more, I try to take her out twice a day as long as it isn't bucketing down. We really like to sit outside for dinner if the weather is good which has been a lot over the last few weeks, the recent rain has put a stop to that though.

we do spend about 50% of our time indoors and the other 50% outdoors so we balance our time between outdoor activities and indoor activities we have bifolding doors and a large awning so we can spend time outdoors even when the weather isn’t great we put the ping pong table under it so we can bring the indoor activities outdoors

I try to spend as much time outdoors as possible but at the moment there has been heavy rain, so I'm staying in but I'll go out as soon as I can, Lifts my mood!