September Is Lovely Almost Everywhere—Go Outside to Get Healthy and Happy

“If you want to calm your mind and sharpen your attention, go for a walk in a park, along a wooded sidewalk or path, or around a lake—even for just 15 minutes.”

Scientific studies consistently report that doing your exercise outdoors is a reliable way to magnify the benefits of moving your body, not only for sharpening your thinking but also for boosting well-being, joy, energy, and motivation.

I have always found that even when the temperatures plummet and the leaves have fallen from the trees, I come back from a brisk outdoor walk or game of pickleball outside happier and more relaxed than if I did an indoor workout. Lisa Nisbet, PhD, psychologist from Trent University says, “You can boost your mood just by walking in nature, even in urban nature. And the sense of connection you have with the natural world seems to contribute to happiness.”

A recent study published in the prestigious journal Nature found that green exercise—defined as physical activity done outside in natural surroundings—confers better improvements in brain function than the same dose and type of exercise done indoors. This study showed that a brief walk among trees, gardens, and grass improved working memory and concentration significantly better than doing a similar short walk inside.

Leafy-Walk Meetings

Katherine Boere is a PhD student at the University of Victoria in Canada who led a recent neurological study of green exercise. She said, “This all started with our walking meetings,” when she her neuroscientist colleagues strolled while they chatted about their ideas and projects. It dawned on her that these outdoor walking meetings were much more energizing and cognitively stimulating than indoor meetings done sitting around a table. Katherine suspected the campus walks along the tree-lined sidewalks and paths were more productive than staying inside but needed confirmation.

• Previous research showed walking, indoors or out, reliably increased blood flow to the brain and helped people focus better after the exercise.

• However, the walks in most prior studies lasted at least 30 minutes.

• For her new study, Boere and colleagues enrolled college undergraduate students and had them walk for about 15 minutes, either indoors or outside on leaf-canopied trails, then tested memory and ability to focus immediately afterwards.

  
  

The outdoor walk soundly trounced the indoor version; the students concentrated better, remembered more, and responded faster after strolling outside.

The natural world predictably relaxes our whole system, slowing the non-stop internal ruminations and calming down the monkey-mind. Being out in nature provides what scientists refers to as “soft fascination,” which holds our attention yet doesn’t demand continual intellectual analysis. Our overburdened brain gets to rest and reset, so that when we come back inside, we can concentrate better and reason more clearly.

Exercise, no matter where it’s done, will augment the brain’s blood flow and increase oxygen levels, but those benefits are magnified if the physical activity is done outdoors, especially in a natural milieu. Only for the last several generations have humans lived as predominantly indoor creatures. During the vast majority of Homo sapiens’ 300,000-year existence, the great outdoors has been our home. 

The biophilia hypothesis argues that our instinctive drive to connect with nature is our genetic destiny because our ancestors evolved in wild settings and relied on the natural world for survival.

Outdoor Exercise Can Make Demanding Workouts Seem Easier

• A recent study from China randomly assigned a group of inactive, obese young adults to regular walks either in a park or a gym. After the outdoor walks, the participants reported that the exercise reduced their stress better and was more enjoyable compared to the indoor walks.

  
  

• Similar results were reported from a study of older people; those who walked outside exercised for about 30 minutes more per week compared to people who walked indoors.

  
  

Even when exercise is strenuous, people generally find it easier and more pleasant when out in nature. A study done in Austria found that volunteers who hiked along a trail in the mountains for three hours felt happier and more relaxed compared to volunteers who did a similar walk on an inclined treadmill. Heart rate monitors revealed that while the hikers exerted themselves more during the outdoor alpine trek, the effort felt less strenuous and left them feeling more elated than walking in the gym.

Physical activity done in urban outdoor environments like downtown commercial areas and warehouse districts with extensive pavement and concrete and few trees or other natural elements appears to be less beneficial for a person’s mental health than similar exercise in greener environments like parks, ponds, fields, and forests.

The duration and intensity of green exercise matters, too. Study participants reported feeling more tranquil and relaxed after walking or slowly jogging for 15 minutes through parks or similar surroundings, but less so when the workout lasted for more than 40 minutes and/or was physically exhausting. One study reported that a four-mile run through a park calmed women participants, whereas, a nine-mile run was not nearly as soothing and restorative.

Bottom Line

Fifteen minutes of green exercise is highly beneficial for your mental health. Even shorter outdoor excursions, such as taking a five- or 10-minute stroll during a work-break, can improve mood and cognitive performance.

“You may experience greater mental health benefits if you are able to be active outside in a natural environment. But since physical activity is extremely important for our physical and mental health no matter what you do or where you do it, just keep being active.” — Claire Wicks, University of Essex

Whether in green spaces, blue spaces (by water), or even grey urban landscapes, exercise is good for you. Fifteen minutes outdoors is often all it takes to recharge your mind and elevate your mood.