YouAsk Kim
A woman in a seated twist on a green mat in a sunlit room, an olive tree and the sea behind her

Move · 20 min

Look up at the night sky

On a clear night, go outside, let your eyes adjust for ten minutes, and look up. The outdoors at night is a different place.

20 minutesFrom the library, free to readFour steps
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Most time outdoors happens in daylight. On a clear night the same garden, park or doorstep becomes somewhere else: cooler, quieter, and with the whole sky overhead. Stargazing needs nothing but warm clothes and a little patience.

The steps

Four small steps,in your own time.

  1. Choose a clear evening. Find the darkest spot you can safely reach: a garden, a balcony, a quiet park edge, away from bright lights.

  2. Dress more warmly than you think you need. Take a chair or something to sit on, and a blanket.

  3. Sit and look up, and give your eyes ten to fifteen minutes to adjust. Avoid looking at your phone; its light resets your eyes.

  4. Watch for the moon, the brightest planets, a passing satellite or a shooting star. Notice how many more stars appear the longer you look.

The reason

Why it helps

Time outdoors and a sense of something vast are both things many people find calming. Stargazing slows you down: there is nothing to do except wait and look. It is also a gentle way to be outside in the evening for people who cannot walk far.

A gentle variation

If going out is not possible, turn off the room lights and sit at a window for ten minutes looking up. On a cloudy night, watch the moon move between the clouds instead.

Friends resting after a game, the sea behind them

WE · TRIBE

Try itwith someone.

Look up with someone: a child, a partner, the person you care for at a window or wrapped up in a chair outside. Take turns pointing out what you see.

Make it a plan in HIVELIVE, with WE

Try it today

On the next clear evening, wrap up warmly and sit outside in the darkest spot you can safely reach for twenty minutes, looking up.

Add it to your day

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