Another challenge episode, and another cruel test we put one of our staff writers through
for your scientific curiosity.
This time we're concerned with the effect technology has on our lives- as various studies
have shown, children spend less time outdoors now than ever before.
Instead of being outside playing on bicycles or romping through the woods, kids today are
spending the majority of their free time inside playing video games, and instead of getting
together to chat with friends, they chat over voice chat services or inside their favorite
games.
We're not saying that this is all bad, but we do wonder what the effect of never going
outside has on the average person, so to answer that pressing question we once more sacrifice
the health and sanity of one of our junior staff writers in order to seek answers.
Hello and welcome to another challenge episode of The Infographics Show- today we're going
to see what happens if you don't go outside for a full month!
The rules are simple: our guinea pig- I mean employee- must stay indoors for a full thirty
days, with absolutely no stepping out for any reason whatsoever.
To that effect we hooked them up with in-home grocery delivery so that there's no reason
to leave the house.
With high speed internet, Netflix, and home delivery of groceries, what more could a person
want?
Let's find out...
Day 1: Another challenge, I'm positively thrilled.
At least this time I don't have to eat any atomic peppers or go without sleep, which
was a nightmare.
By comparison this staying indoors thing sounds like a breeze, I already work from home anyways
so aside from shifting responsibility for walking the dog over to the girlfriend, there's
not much of an adjustment to be made.
It does suck I'll miss a few movies that are coming out because I love seeing them in theaters,
but I'm sure I can catch them after the thirty days in one of the cheaper places.
It'll be tricky to navigate some of my social responsibilities like hanging out with me
or the girlfriend's friends, but nothing that should be hard to explain away.
I'll keep a journal as usual of my experiences, and like usual I've done my research first
on what I should expect.
First there's the obvious warnings about Vitamin D deficiency- apparently there's very little
food that has any vitamin D actually in it and we receive most of what we need from the
sun.
The sun's rays convert fats from the food we eat into 'activated' vitamin D called Calcitriol,
which in turn helps us absorb and use calcium which strengthens and grows our bones.
If you don't get enough Vitamin D you can actually develop the rickets and osteoporosis
as your bones weaken, and you can be susceptible to them breaking, which would really suck.
Lastly, apparently your skin can become discolored as you lose pigmentation in your skin, until
you start looking like one of those cave salamanders they find living deep underground.
I asked the girlfriend if she'd still love me if I turned into a cave salamander and
she told me I was stupid and to “get a real job”.
She's clearly less a fan of these challenge episodes then I am.
Vitamin D apparently also helps combat things like prostate cancer, which is of great concern
to me as I happen to be very happy with the current state of my prostate.
It also helps combat heart disease and improve circulation by managing the levels of nitric
oxide in your blood and skin, which lowers blood pressure.
Lastly, exposure to sunlight and fresh air helps combat depression, and numerous studies
all say that being stuck in doors is a great way to get yourself into a pretty deep funk.
Apparently just looking at the color green can help fight depression and lift your mood,
which I guess makes sense given our evolutionary history growing up in the outdoors.
Also helps explain why just about everyone finds green fields of grass so comforting
a sight.
In light of the health effects listed I thought maybe I should take Vitamin D supplements
and maybe put up some posters of green grass, but I decided that in order for this experience
to be 'pure' I couldn't cheat, so once more putting my health on the line for the sake
of science- or at least just youtube.
Day 7: It feels strange not having been outside for a week straight, specially because typically
me and the girlfriend make plans every saturday to get out and do something together.
This week it was just staying at home and watching some Redbox, which of course she
had to go get.
I can tell the experiment is definitely annoying her more than me so far, because it's her
that has to wake up every morning and take the dog out, or take him out when she comes
back home.
Plus its her that has to run every errand that can't be done over the phone or online.
I have to admit, this whole thing isn't so bad after all, though I'm definitely going
to owe her afterwards.
My mood and health seem fine, though I have to admit it does get a little bit boring just
sitting inside all day- even with internet and tv.
Curious how this next week is going to go.
Day 14: After Pol Pot was deposed in Cambodia he got sentenced to house arrest, which is
kind of a weird punishment for someone who killed millions of people.
It's almost like nobody could really wrap their minds around all that murder so they
just sort of said, ok well just stay inside your house until you die.
Yet Ted Bundy got the death sentence for killing like .0001% that amount.
What a strange world we live in.
Anyways, I have no idea how Pol Pot managed to do it, specially since he had no internet.
This week was boring, with a capital B, and I guess I never realized before just how much
I take for granted even just things like going to the store or quick hangouts to grab a drink
or coffee with a friend.
I guess my mood is definitely shifting a bit, and girlfriend confirmed that I am lacking
my usual sunny disposition- though I think she was being sarcastic.
I told her I needed a realistic and accurate observation of how my mood may be changing,
that it was important, and she just laughed at me and reminded me that I work for youtube.
Fair point.
Tomorrow starts week three, and I'm not looking forward to the boredom.
Day 21: I'm pretty sure I've played though every game in my Steam library- and side-note
here but when are they finally going to make an Xcom 3?!
The boredom is real, and I find that I'm even looking forward to taking the dog out early
in the morning again, something I typically hate because I'm warm and snug in bed and
want to keep sleeping.
My mood is definitely tanking I think, and I actually find myself anxiously pacing sometimes
when I'm home alone, I think my body is literally dying for some basic exercise.
I read up on deep-vein thrombosis and now I'm terrified, because apparently blood clots
can form in your veins if you don't move around enough.
Sitting at my computer chair or on the couch as I so often am, I'm definitely not moving
much if at all.
Wouldn't that be a way to go?
A blood clot forms in my leg and travels to my heart, stopping it in its tracks.
RIP, youtube killed him.
I told the girlfriend and she didn't think it was funny at all, and for the umpteenth
time told me my job was dumb.
My appetite is also being weird.
I've settled into just eating sandwiches most of the time, even though I can technically
have any groceries I want delivered.
I just find that I don't have much appetite, and simple ham, cheese, and salami sandwiches
are perfectly fine.
Girlfriend is worried about my health because salami is so high in sodium and there's the
concerns about blood pressure from a lack of sunlight already.
So far, I feel ok, if just kind of generally fatigued and I guess... kind of down.
I mean I wake up and there's just nothing to really do with my day, every day is a bit
like groundhog day- which I watched twice this last week by the way.
Next week is technically the final week, so I'll wait until day 30 for my final report.
Day 30: Tomorrow I get to go back outside and I couldn't be happier.
I feel like a prisoner kept in isolation, except at least they get one hour of exercise
a day in the sunlight.
I honestly never realized how much I take it for granted being outside, even if I'm
not being a super outdoors person and just popping out to walk the dog or run errands.
I also realized that I probably wouldn't cut it in solitary confinement, I'd be one of
the ones that goes crazy and starts talking to himself.
My mood has absolutely tanked, but it's been buoyed knowing that this weird experiment
would end in 30 days, so I guess I didn't get the full effect of being completely isolated
from the outside world.
I imagine that if I went into this not knowing when it would end, my mood would definitely
be far worse than it is now, and I don't doubt that depression is a very real thing for people
who don't get to go outside or just choose not to.
My appetite is totally tanked too, though strangely I've been finding myself drawn more
and more to fatty or sugar-rich things to eat and drink.
I typically try to limit myself to two, maybe three sodas a week, but this last month I've
been drinking them almost every single day.
I've also been eating really sweet snacks and foods, like french toast and cookies.
I think my brain is literally looking for any pick-me-up it can and so it's getting
its 'high' from sugary stuff.
I definitely notice that I feel much better after having a soda or eating a few cookies.
Unfortunately that's definitely given me a bit of flab around the mid section, which
was really surprising- or I guess shouldn't have been really.
I asked the girlfriend if she still found me sexy and she laughed and said, 'still'?
She's a regular comedian, but I can't be too mad at her because she's been a champ about
all of this.
Now though I have to run every errand and take the dog out for a month straight to make
it up to her, though I'm sure I'm not going to hear the end of this anytime soon.
My final conclusion is that it's definitely not healthy to stay locked up inside for a
month.
My diet sucks, my appetite is in the trash, and I've gotten visibly unhealthier.
I feel faint even at just the thought of strenuous exercise, and I'm sure that my blood pressure
is putting up some pretty unhealthy numbers.
I'm also absolutely stir-crazy, and there's no amount of video games or movies or books
in the world that could keep me cooped up inside permanently.
I don't think I would cut it in solitary confinement, or in an underground bunker if world war three
ever kicked off.
Screw it, let me outside and I'll happily die in all the radiation, or just become a
ghoul and start picking off wastelanders.