April 12, 2023 – If you need to achieve greater advantages, corresponding to mental clarity and motivation, it is best to exercise outdoors in nature, recent research on “green exercise” suggests.
A studyPublished in Naturesays that the neurological effects of physical activity in nature include higher working memory and concentration.
College students performed higher after taking outdoor study breaks than after taking indoor study breaks, said Katherine Boere, a neuroscience doctoral student on the University of Victoria who helped lead the study. Nature calms people and may quiet distracting thoughts.
She said that nature captures attention without requiring much mental work. We can refocus our attention after which concentrate higher. In addition, walking and other exercises improve the blood and oxygen supply to the brain.
Of course, exercise is sweet for our body and our brain. But in nature it appears to be even higher.
“You can experience greater mental health benefits if you can be active outside in a natural environment,” said Claire Wicks, a senior research fellow on the University of Essex in England, in The Washington Post. Fifteen minutes of exercise in green spaces “seemed to be the most beneficial” for mental health.
The length of the training is significant, but not within the sense of “more is always better”.
“Participants reported feeling significantly calmer after a 15-minute walk or light jog through parks or similar locations. However, the response was less when the physical activity lasted 40 minutes or longer or was strenuous,” The post said the article.
And where you spend time outdoors matters, too. Your best bet is to be in a park or other natural setting—slightly than wandering around a downtown neighborhood or other built-up area without many trees or green space, in response to a review of previous studies published last yr within the journal. Health and wellbeing.