Psychological benefits of outdoor physical activity in natural versus urban environments: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of experimental studies
C. Wickspmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Psychological benefits of outdoor physical activity in natural versus urban environments: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of experimental studies
CITY STROLLING
BENEFITS FOR: Stress, fatigue.
Urban landscapes can also bring benefits. In 2017, Spanish researchers investigated the effects of walking in ‘the built environment’, comparing a square full of greenery and one containing scant greenery but with bars, shops and a church.
Forty-six tired, stressed participants were surveyed before, during
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In conclusion, our findings support the advantages of green exercise over non-green exercise, meanwhile implying potential psychological differences between exercises in wild environments and urban greenspaces
A 2015 study from Stanford University demonstrated that those who took a ninety-minute walk through a natural landscape had reduced neural activity in an area of the brain linked to risk for mental illness compared to those who walked in an urban environment.
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Walking in a forest (‘dynamic forest bathing’) brings even greater benefits. In one recent study where participants took either hour-long forest walks or hour-long ‘sits’, the walkers saw significantly greater improvements in their mood.