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Green exercise in the UK countryside: Effects on health and psychological well-being, and implications for policy and planning
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There is evidence that contact with the natural environment and green space promotes good health. It is also well known that participation in regular physical activity generates physical and psychological health benefits. The authors have hypothesised that 'green exercise' will improve health and psychological well-being, yet few studies have quantified these effects. This study measured the effects of 10 green exercise case studies (including walking, cycling, horse-riding, fishing, canal-boating and conservation activities) in four regions of the UK on 263 participants. Even though these participants were generally an active and healthy group, it was found that green exercise led to a significant improvement in self-esteem and total mood disturbance (with anger-hostility, confusion-bewilderment, depression-dejection and tension-anxiety all improving post-activity). Self-esteem and mood were found not to be affected by the type, intensity or duration of the green exercise, as the results were similar for all 10 case studies. Thus all these activities generated mental health benefits, indicating the potential for a wider health and well-being dividend from green exercise. Green exercise thus has important implications for public and environmental health, and for a wide range of policy sectors.
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... However, the added health benefits of outdoor exercise beyond the beneficial effects of physical activity were already known before COVID-19 [51,62,63]. The WHO provided strong evidence that health and the quality of life can be improved by green infrastructure-such as parks and amenity spaces, transport corridors, gardens, green roofs, ponds, etc.-as this provides spaces for rest and restoration, physical activity, play and social interaction [64,65]. ...
... The importance of outdoor activities with special regard to PA was also demonstrated in women. Based on 10 case studies, self-esteem improved after GE, and participants with poorer self-esteem by baseline benefitted more; the main effect for gender was significant (F = 9.52, p < 0.01) as men had higher self-esteem than women before the intervention [63]. The effects of GE on physical health were also measured by calorie consumption per visit, which is a combination of the measurement of intensity and duration. ...
... The effects of GE on physical health were also measured by calorie consumption per visit, which is a combination of the measurement of intensity and duration. The study revealed that significant health benefits can be implied by all intensities provided that the calories per visit increase by lower intensity all-day activities [63]. ...
(1) Background: Low life satisfaction (LS) is associated with impaired mental and physical health. Outdoor physical activity (PA) has diverse somatic and psychological benefits. This study aimed to analyse the associations between sports settings and LS in women of reproductive age. (2) Methods: Special Eurobarometer on Sport and Physical Activity (2022, 2018, 2013) data on regularity and settings of sports/PA, LS and sociodemographic variables were analysed. The representative sample consisted of 18,489 women (34.60 ± 9.36 years). Pearson χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted, using IBM SPSS version 28.0 according to the STROBE guidelines. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. (3) There was a significant difference in LS based on sports settings (χ2 = 409.696, p < 0.001). In the outdoor group, a 21.4% higher probability of being “very satisfied” compared to the non-outdoor, 30.0% higher compared to the inactive group, was found (R2N = 0.151). Dividing the sample by age, a significant effect remained in middle adulthood (35–44 years p = 0.002 and 45–49 years p = 0.033). (4) Conclusions: Our results underline the importance of the promotion of outdoor, green exercise and the development of special interventions to maintain or improve the psychological well-being of women in reproductive age.
... الرفاهية ياس العبي به يتمتع ما يفوق النفسية الرفاهية من املستوى هذا نفس باستخدام الدنمارك في القدم كرة في النخبة والعبات اسة لدر وفقا املقياس ورفاقه كيوتل ( Kuettel et al., 2021 ) الرياضيين من أعلى وكذلك املقياس ذات استخدمت التي امل شاركين املتحدة باململكة السوبر كأس في ( m=25.07±4.34 املقياس نفس أيضا استخدموا الذين ) ( Nicholls et al., 2020 ) ، مستوى أن إلى يشير وهذا الجبال ي مش رياضة ي ممارس لدى تفع ير النفسية الرفاهية الرياضة تلك أثر ويؤكد األخرى الرياضات ي بممارس مقارنة و النفسية الصحة على اسات الدر إليه خلصت ملا فقا السابقة( Huang & Wu, 2013;Martens et al., 2011;Neale et al., 2022;Pretty et al., 2007;Zhang, 2020 ) لرياضة املباشر التأثير عن ناجمة النتيجة هذه تكون وربما السلبية، النفسية الطاقة تفريغ في الجبال ي مش و خفض الح والضغوطات ات التوتر للممارسي ياتية ن خالل من هذا أن إلى أشير أن بقي الطبيعة. مع املباشر االحتكاك نظرية صحة على واضحا جديدا دليال تقدم اسة الدر الرياضة تأثير حول االجتماعي ي النفس البيولوجي النموذج ي النفس والتوافق النفسية الصحة على والتمرين العام. ...
... A growing body of evidence has allowed us to become aware and more confident that it is not only a feeling of well-being that we have by immersion through sensory contact in nature, but also actual physiological, emotional, and mental health benefits that have been measured and monitored by various studies (Lemieux et al. 2016;Newton 2007;Puhakka et al. 2017;Taff et al. 2019;Thomsen et al. 2018;Townsend and Henderson-Wilson 2016;UK Sustainable Development Commission 2008). Exposure to nature has been linked with providing a number of physical fitness and wellness benefits, or ecosystem services, including better general health, reduced blood pressure and pulse rate, increased lifespans, and reduced exposure to pollution Popham 2007, 2008;Pretty et al. 2007;Sandifer et al. 2015;Wells et al. 2007). Also, nature-based recreation and leisure experiences have been associated with a range of emotional and psychological ecosystem services, leading to mental wellness outcomes, including restorative benefits (Hartig et al. 1997;Kaplan 1995) stress reduction (Morita et al. 2007;Ulrich et al. 1991), and the improvement of cognition and affect for people suffering from depression (Berman et al. 2012;McMahan and Estes 2015;Sandifer et al. 2015). ...
This chapter discusses the merits of harmonious relationships between people, society, and nature, and their potential to help address increasing societal vulnerabilities. In recent years, The Chilean National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) has developed the concept of nature bathing , through its Nature for Everyone program. Nature bathing draws from validated programs that have been found to strengthen the immune system and reduce anxiety, depression, and stress, all of which may contribute to greater psychological resilience. Specifically, CONAF’s Nature Bathing program integrates elements of the cosmovision and practices associated with forest bathing ( Shinrin Yoku , in Japanese), grounding , and Andean Indigenous and popular culture. Accredited experts facilitate a 2–3-hour experience in a PA, promoting a reflective meditation ( mindfulness ), that immerses participants in the environment by activating the senses. This chapter reviews the health benefits attributed to spending time in nature and developing direct relationships with nature. Next, we share some practices and traditions being employed around the world to purposefully rebuild human connections with nature. Then, we delve into CONAF’s Nature Bathing initiative, as an example of a transformative program designed to strengthen the role of PAs as public health infrastructure and help visitors build resilience while rediscovering their interconnectedness with nature.
... These findings are consistent with previous studies. 42,57 Moreover, the three settings with any type of greenery significantly increased participants' Vigor and Happiness, yet these two moods deteriorated in the office without any greenery. The increases in Vigor and Happiness also corroborate with previous research. ...
Objective: Less attention has been given to how green space can impact college students’ moods. This study aimed to examine whether university students exposed to outdoor and indoor green space-natural and artificial would experience a change in moods compared to students not exposed to green space. Method: Seventy-nine participants were randomly assigned to four different conditions: office without greenery, office with posters of nature, office with green plants, and outside in a garden. The Brunel Mood Scale was used to assess participants’ moods before and after spending time in their assigned setting. Results: Results indicated that all participants experienced a decline in tension and fatigue regardless of their assigned setting, yet the decline was less pronounced among participants in the office without greenery. Conclusion: Study findings highlight indoor green space is also conducive to positive moods. Thus, in addition to protecting outside greenery, universities may invest in indoor greenery (e.g., indoor plants, posters/artwork featuring nature) that can be placed in classrooms, libraries, dormitories, and other spaces frequented by students.
... Actions to encourage more use of Scotland's outdoors as 'Our Natural Health Service' are being strongly linked to public health and physical activity agendas within the Scottish Government and its health sector. Evidence indicates that green exercise can contribute to tackling physical inactivity, mental health challenges and health inequalities (Pretty et al. 2007;Hough Mackenzie and Brymer 2018;Europarc Federation 2018). ...
Nature-based health interventions (NBHIs) are utilised to treat a range of physical and mental health conditions, and this rapid review sought to describe the breadth of instrumentation utilised to measure the effectiveness of NBHIs on the different domains of health and wellbeing. A total of 14,385 records were extracted from three databases, and a review of titles and abstracts and then of full text resulted in a final dataset of 167 articles that met the review criteria. NBHI settings were categorised as Garden/Horticulture, Blue Spaces, Urban Green Spaces, Wild Nature, and Camps/Residential. For each of these settings, major population groups included in the studies, health domains and outcomes addressed, as well as assessment tools used to measure NBHIs’ effectiveness were described and analysed in aggregate. A total of 336 measurement tools were utilised across the dataset, with only 29 being specifically designed to assess NBHIs. Most studies investigated mental health domains and measured the effectiveness of NBHIs to improve psychological factors and physical, behavioural, and healthy eating outcomes. Future research should interrogate how nature-based tools and outcome measurements could be used most effectively in NBHI settings.
Palyatif bakım, terminal dönem hastaların, kalan hayatlarını daha az sıkıntılı ve daha konforlu geçirmeleri için özelleşmiş bakım şeklidir. Sağlık hizmeti veren yapılarda ya da evde bakımda hastanın ihtiyacı olacak bakım şartlarının uygulanması için özel tasarlanmış mekanlara ihtiyaç vardır. Palyatif bakım, hastanın hastalık sürecinde değişen insani gereksinimlerini ve yakınlarının ihtiyaçlarını karşılamak üzere multidisipliner olarak hazırlanmış bütüncül bir sağlık planı içermelidir. Bu doğrultuda, çalışma kapsamında doğa ile birlikte tasarlanmış iç ve dış mekanların hastalar ve yakınları üzerinde olumlu etkileri olabileceği hipotezi ortaya konmuştur. Çalışma aynı zamanda palyatif bakım merkezlerinde doğa ile bütünleşmiş mekân tasarımlarının palyatif bakım altında olan hastalar ve hasta yakınları üstündeki çoklu etkilerini ortaya koymayı hedeflemiştir. Literatürde bu bağlamda kabul görmüş üç ayrı araştırmacının birbiri ile ilişkili teorileri; ‘Psiko-evrimsel Teori’, Stresi Yenme Teorisi ve Dikkat Yenileme Teorisi dikkate alınarak mekânsal öneriler sunulmuştur. Yapılan araştırma sonucunda elde edilen veriler ışığında, palyatif bakım merkezlerindeki iç mekân- dış mekân birlikteliğinin doğa elemanlarının olumlu etkileri bağlamında süreklilik içinde tasarlanması gerekliliği ortaya çıkmıştır. Tasarlanan mekanların sadece niceliksel değil, kapsam ve bireylerin gereksinimlerine uyumluluk açısından değerlendirilmesinin palyatif bakımda olumlu etkiler yaratacağı vurgulanmıştır.
Green spaces or green infrastructure or urban green spaces are defined as outdoor spaces “partially or completelycovered with grass, trees, shrubs or other types of vegetation and include, among others, parks, forests and municipalgardens”. The design and use of urban green spaces has become increasingly important in recent years as a formof contrast to the deleterious effects of urbanization. The presence of such spaces on the territory and access to thelatter therefore represents a significant form of health promotion, as well as an important factor that determines it: itis therefore necessary to consider the main benefits provided by the presence of green spaces. These benefits can be ofmultiple nature: they go from environmental benefits (such as the management of clean water, the reduction of air andwater pollution and protection against soil erosion) to social benefits (improvement of health and well-being, creationof new jobs, increase in tourism), up to consider benefits inherent in the adaptation and mitigation of climate changeand biodiversity. It is therefore essential to have adequate design of green space: for these benefits to be effective, it isnecessary to plan services to the person and adequate accessibility interventions, in line with the virtuous logic thatgreen spaces can help to promote.
Research suggests that the formation of neighborhood social ties (NSTs) may substantially depend on the informal social contact which occurs in neighborhood common spaces, and that in inner‐city neighborhoods where common spaces are often barren no‐man's lands, the presence of trees and grass supports common space use and informal social contact among neighbors. We found that for 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to 18 architecturally identical buildings, levels of vegetation in common spaces predict both use of common spaces and NSTs; further, use of common spaces mediated the relationship between vegetation and NSTS. In addition, vegetation and NSTs were significantly related to residents' senses of safety and adjustment. These findings suggest that the use and characteristics of common spaces may play a vital role in the natural growth of community, and that improving common spaces may be an especially productive focus for community organizing efforts in inner‐city neighborhoods.
Numerous provocative studies on the psychological effects of aerobic fitness training are available today, and more are appearing almost on a daily basis. This book reviews and evaluates the research, and it asks and attempts to answer significant background questions: What are the various motivating factors that have contributed to the emergence of the national fitness movement? What are the public health considerations con- cerning the relationship between physical fitness and coronary heart disease? What exactly do we mean by "physical fitness," especially "aerobic" fitness? This book contains essential, in-depth data for everyone interested in the most solid and reliable information on the psychology of aerobic fitness.
First Chief Medical Officer's (England) report on physical activity and public health
