How to touch grass: a simple, fun 30-day plan to get your life back outside

01What does “touch grass” mean, and why does it sting?

In one line“Touch grass” means log off. It stings because it is a joke and a diagnosis at the same time.

Before we get to how to touch grass, the meme itself. “Go touch grass” is the internet’s way of saying: log off, you have been online too long. It started as a burn in gaming chats and comment threads. Somebody gets heated over a patch note or a ranked match, and the reply lands: touch grass.

It is a joke. It is also a diagnosis. The reason it stings is that you read it, laughed, and then noticed you were reading it at 1:40 AM, in bed, on your third app of the night.

So this is not another article explaining a meme. This is how to touch grass for real: what being stuck indoors is costing you, why the outside actually changes how you feel, and a 30-day plan that starts so small you cannot fail it. Then we will make it fun, because nobody sticks to a plan that feels like homework.

02How much life are you trading for the screen?

In one lineThree hours a day on a feed is 21 hours a week, while time with friends in person fell to 20 minutes a day.

Let us put numbers on it. Not vibes. Numbers from people who count for a living.

• Four in ten teens say they are online almost constantly, and 97% go online every day.¹
• Teens average 3.5 hours a day on social media alone, and young people who spend more than 3 hours a day there face double the risk of depression and anxiety symptoms, says the U.S. Surgeon General.²
• One in three U.S. adults report being online almost constantly, and Americans spend about six hours a day on digital media, by the Surgeon General’s count.³
• TV alone takes 2.6 hours a day for the average American 15 and older. Sports, exercise and recreation get 0.31 hours. That is under 20 minutes.⁴

Now the part that hurts. Time spent with friends in person fell from about 60 minutes a day in 2003 to 20 minutes a day in 2020. For people 15 to 24 it dropped by nearly 70%, from roughly 150 minutes a day to 40.³ About one in two American adults reported loneliness even before the pandemic, and the Surgeon General’s advisory says a lack of social connection can raise the risk of early death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.³

Do the math on your own week. Three hours a day on a feed is 21 hours a week. That is a part-time job. Over a year, it is more than 1,000 hours: over two months of waking hours spent watching other people live their lives.

And the cost compounds quietly. Fewer real plans, so fewer friends, so more scrolling, so fewer plans. The loop does not need you to do anything. That is exactly why it wins, and why how to touch grass takes a plan, not willpower.

03Why do you literally need to touch grass?

In one line120 minutes a week in nature is where the health link starts, and it does not matter how you split it.

Because the outside is not just a background. It does measurable things to you. That is the science behind how to touch grass.

How to touch grass by the numbers: 120 minutes a week

A study of 19,806 adults in England, published in Scientific Reports in 2019, found that people who spent at least 120 minutes a week in nature were significantly more likely to report good health and high well-being than people who spent none.⁵ Below that, the study found no significant link. The gains peaked around 200 to 300 minutes a week.⁵

The best part for anyone with a busy week: it did not matter how you got your 120 minutes. One long trip or several short ones worked the same.⁵ Two hours. Spread however you like. That is the target our plan for how to touch grass builds to.

A walk outside quiets the loop in your head

Your body is waiting for its 150 minutes

The CDC says adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, like brisk walking, plus two days of muscle-strengthening work. You can break it into chunks, such as 30 minutes, five days a week.⁷ Get your 120 minutes outside moving, and you are most of the way there without ever setting foot in a gym.

04How to touch grass: the 30-day plan

In one lineTen minutes a day in week one, 120 minutes in week two, then wheels, then a whole weekend.

Here is how to touch grass without turning your life upside down. Each week adds a little. You keep your phone. You just stop letting it drive.

1. 01

   Week 1

   Ten minutes outside, every day, phone in your pocket.

2. 02

   Week 2

   Walk 15 or 20 minutes a day, add one park visit and hit 120 minutes.⁵

3. 03

   Week 3

   Get wheels and go farther: the Fullerton Loop, a test ride, a paved bikeway.

4. 04

   Week 4

   A half-day outside with a destination, a reason and a friend.

Week 1: ten minutes, every day

• Step outside for ten minutes a day. Morning coffee on the steps counts. A lap around the block counts.
• Phone in your pocket, not your hand. If you want a photo, take it, then put it away.
• Pick a fixed time, like right after lunch or before dinner, so you do not have to decide every day.

That is 70 minutes in week one. More than most people get. Easy win, and the first rule of how to touch grass: show up daily.

Week 2: hit 120 minutes

• Stretch the daily walk to 15 or 20 minutes.
• Add one longer visit to a real green space. In Fullerton, Ted Craig Regional Park has 124 acres of rolling hills, mature trees, a small lake and walking trails, on State College Blvd.¹²
• Leave the earbuds out for part of it. Listen to what is actually there.

Congratulations: you just hit the 120-minute mark the research points to.⁵ You now know how to touch grass on purpose.

Week 3: get wheels and go farther

• Walk a piece of the Fullerton Loop, an 11-mile trail loop with shortcut paths so you can turn back early.¹⁴
• Try an e-bike. Come in for a test ride in Fullerton and feel how far 30 minutes takes you.
• Ride one paved bikeway, like the Coyote Creek Bikeway or the Santa Ana River Trail.¹⁰

Week 4: make a weekend out of it

• Plan one half-day outside with a real destination: a trail, the coast, a viewpoint.
• Bring a reason. A drone, a camera, a picnic, a friend.
• Invite one person. Remember that 70% drop in time with friends?³ This is how you reverse yours.
• Write next month’s first weekend on the calendar before this one ends.

05How to touch grass farther: why an e-bike is the cheat code

In one lineHow to touch grass farther without getting fit first: an e-bike, and the riding still counts as exercise.

Walking is great. Walking is also slow. On foot, the park three miles away might as well be on another planet. That is where most plans die: the good places feel too far, so you stay home.

An e-bike fixes the distance problem without asking you to be fit first. The motor helps when you pedal, so hills and headwinds stop being reasons to quit. And no, it is not cheating your body.

• It is real exercise. A systematic review of 17 studies found e-cycling gives physical activity of at least moderate intensity, in active and inactive people alike, even in a high assist mode. Less than a regular bike, more than walking.⁸
• You end up riding more. In a survey across seven European cities, e-bike riders logged similar weekly physical activity to regular cyclists, 4,463 against 4,085 MET minutes, partly because their trips were longer: 9.4 km on an e-bike against 4.8 km on a regular bike.⁹
• It counts toward your 150. Moderate intensity is exactly the kind of activity the CDC’s weekly target asks for.^7,8

Translation: the e-bike gets you out the door, and once you are out, you stay out longer. That is the whole game of how to touch grass.

Where you can ride one in Orange County

Ready to look? Browse our e-bikes, from folding commuters like the Lectric XP Lite 2, which fits in a trunk, to fat-tire bikes for rougher pavement. Grab a helmet while you are at it. Before you buy anywhere, our list of e-bikes to stay away from will save you a headache. If paying all at once is what is holding you back, ask about lease-to-own.

06How to touch grass with a reason to go: bring a drone

In one lineGive the screen a job outside: a drone turns “I should go out” into “I need that shot.”

Here is a trick that works on screen people: give the screen a job outside. A drone turns “I should go outside” into “I need to get that shot.” Suddenly you are scouting a ridge, waiting for golden hour, walking an extra mile for a better angle. You are touching grass and you did not even notice. That is how to touch grass when you hate being told to.

Where can you fly near home? Our guide to where you can fly a drone in Fullerton walks through the airspace and the spots to check. New to it? Start with our drone for beginners guide, then look at the drones we carry. We are an authorized DJI dealer, so you can see them in person before you pick.

07Where to touch grass around Fullerton and Orange County

In one lineHow to touch grass close to home: Orange County has more outside than most people use. Pick one spot.

You do not need a road trip to learn how to touch grass. Orange County has more outside than most people ever use. A starter list, from easy to adventurous:

• Ted Craig Regional Park, Fullerton. 124 acres with a 3-acre lake, shade trees, open grass and trails. Your week-two walk.¹²
• Fullerton’s own trails. The city counts about 28 miles of recreational trails.¹³ The Fullerton Loop starts about three quarters of a mile from Fullerton Station, so you can even take the train there.¹⁴ Do it on foot.
• Coyote Creek Bikeway. Paved, open to Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes, and close by in Buena Park and La Habra.¹⁰
• Santa Ana River Trail. The long paved one. Pick a stretch, ride out, ride back.¹⁰
• Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Real wilderness: hills, trails, ocean air. No e-bikes, no drones, no dogs. Just you and your legs.¹¹

Pick one for this weekend. Not five. One.

08Start with a test ride in Fullerton

In one lineThe hardest part is the first push out the door, so make it a fun one: a test ride.

The hardest part of how to touch grass is the first push out the door. So make it a fun one. Come to our store at 932 W Orangethorpe Ave in Fullerton, open every day from 10 AM to 8 PM, and ask for an e-bike test ride. It is a request, and we call you to confirm the time. Feel the motor kick in on the first pedal stroke. That grin is week three of your plan, happening early.

Already have an e-bike or scooter collecting dust in the garage? Check the tires, charge it the way the manual says, and go. Want a new one and need to spread the cost? Easy to own lets you apply for lease-to-own with Acima or Snap, online or in the store. Leasing costs more than the cash price.