BES Facebook groupA dose of nature
The results of a meta-analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Essex show that a ‘dose’ of nature is good for your health and well-being. Professor Jules Pretty and Dr Jo Barton analysed ten studies conducted by the university over the past six years, involving over 1200 participants. They found that ‘green exercise’ improved self-esteem and mood irrespective of duration, intensity, location, gender, age and health status. The researchers therefore conclude that the environment provides an important, and often overlooked health service.
Physical inactivity results in roughly one in 25 deaths worldwide, linked as it is to obesity and as a risk factor in many chronic diseases. More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban settlements; contact with the environment is becoming rarer. The resuls outlined by the University of Essex suggest that access to local greenspace should be prioritised in the design of sustainable towns and cities, leading to both conservation and health benefits – and therefore benefits for the economy and society.
The researchers’ analysis showed that mood improvements were greatest in participants undertaking light and vigourous activity, suggesting that there is a health benefit from any short engagement in green space. The presence of water generated greater improvements in mood and self-esteem for all participants. The greatest change for self-esteem as a result of exposure to green exercise was in younger participants, with diminishing effects with age. The mentally ill showed one of the greatest improvements in self-esteem, suggesting significant value in encouraging this group to undertake green exercise.
The researchers acknowledge that more needs to be done to disentangle the relative contribution of exercise per se and green environments to the mood and self-esteem alterations demonstrated. Research is also necessary to assess the benefits of undertaking green exercise with other people (social capital) and the benefits of connections with animals. However they conclude that attention should be given to the use of green exercise as a therapeutic intervention on the basis of the evidence presented; that planners and architects should improve access to green space and that children should be given the opportunity to learn in outdoor settings. Shifts in urban design, transport policy, support for social care and parenting can help to embed physical activity as a necessary part of life, and ensure that the public are able to take advantage of the full suite of benefits provided by green space.
The Natural Capital Initiative will be organising an event later this year focused on ‘ecosystem services and health’. Further details will be available on the NCI website in due course. To register your interest contact Policy@BritishEcologicalSociety.org.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Perhaps it is time for a global outcry by great numbers of people…….like Professor Jules Pretty and others on the surface of Earth are encouraging now.
Many more people are going to have to speak out loudly, clearly and often about what is somehow true, as each of us sees what is real, so that the whole world can hear our voices. I do not believe that it is ever too late to do the right thing; but it is getting “late in the day” to make necessary changes away from soon to become patently unsustainable global human overproduction, overconsumption and overpopulation activities. Even though a colossal wreckage can be apprehended in the offing if silence prevails over speech-to-power, there is still enough daylight for us to see dimly that adequate space-time exists in which to move forward fast toward sustainability.
March 31st, 2010 at 5:31 pm
[...] British Ecological Society’s blog posted about a recent research article titled “What Is The Best Dose of Nature and Green [...]
May 5th, 2010 at 12:14 am
[...] British Ecological Society is reporting on a new study that indicates that exercising in a green space for as little as five-minutes improves mental and [...]