Fun fact, Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors. This slow, sedentary and secluded lifestyle means we spend less time outdoors than the generations before us. The health implications are numerous with links to overeating and obesity disorders, which lead to cardiovascular and other diseases. So, maybe this wasn’t such a fun fact.

A simple way to boost the amount of time you spend outdoors is through gardening. It is a low-stress activity that allows you to be a kid again and sink your hands into the earth. With the sun on your back and the soil beneath your feet, there’s no better way to clear your head and allow yourself to feel a connection to nature.

Did you know that just 45 minutes of gardening burns as many calories as 30 minutes of aerobics? Rather than go for a run (an activity that many, like me, strongly despise), you can just sit yourself in the dirt and play with plants. I mean honestly, doesn’t that sound like a much better alternative?

Here are some fun facts about dirt, too. Though some parents protest against it, the kids who are exposed to dirt more develop stronger immune systems and have lower risks of asthma and allergies as they grow up. Though we might not be kids anymore, dirt is still really good for us. A professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Christopher Lowry, found a harmless bacteria in the soil that increases the release of serotonin in the parts of the brain that control cognitive function and mood. This regulation of serotonin is similar to drugs prescribed as antidepressants.

Being surrounded by flowers helps, too. At Rutgers University, Jeannette M. Haviland-Jones found that flowers act as a mood moderator. Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness and help to foster long-term positive effects on mood.

Cellphones run out of battery, wireless Internet fades in and out, and movies and television shows all eventually end, but plants don’t have a battery or a dependency on the Internet being up.

Plants are dependent on you and the environment around them. They require TLC, and not tons, but just enough to allow a connection to grow between you and your plants. They can get water from passing rain showers and sunlight on bright, sunny days, but they need someone to prune their flowers and pull the weeds out from around them.

You might get a little hot and a little sweaty and a little gross (or a lot sometimes, depends on how much dirt you sit in) but it’s all worth it. Escape the indoors and get outside today. Find the right flowers for you, or pick out a few vegetables that’ll be ripe for picking in a few weeks. As they grow, you’ll have beautiful arrangements for your dining room table and perfect, homegrown veggies to pair with your meals.

So, it’s time for you to go sit in some dirt.