Health Benefits of Outdoor Activities
Outdoor activities commonly involve physical activity. Physical activity has many health benefits alone. Physical activity can reduce the risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. The main benefits of physical activity include reducing risk for heart attack, managing weight, lowering cholesterol levels, lowering blood pressure, strengthening muscles, better sleep, more energy, decreasing depression, and overall being in a better mood. It is recommended that people receive at least 30 minutes of exercise each day (Physical activity - it's important, 2012). Specifically, outdoor activities in nature, enhance emotional well being and amplify the benefits from physical exercise.
There is a particular program called Healthy Parks, Healthy People (from National Park Service) that aims to improve health through the regular use and enjoyment of parks nationwide (Seltenrich, 2015). Additionally, physical activity is important for preventing certain health problems. However, fewer people are participating in physical activity than they were 20 years ago (Mahoney, 2007). There is a program in Belo Horizonte, Brazil called Acadêmicas de Cidade. The program aims to promote physical activity by providing free access to free activities such as gymnastics, dance, walking, and other sports. 1,581 people participated in this program. The study demonstrates that people who exercise more, continue to participate in physical activity more frequently than those who were less physically active (Andrade, Mingoti, Fernandes, Friche, and Xavier 2018).
Coming in contact with nature has multiple mental health benefits; one is that nature reduces depression. A study produced by Mind, a mental health charity in Britain, was conducted with 150 people who had mental health problems. When they took a walk through the forest they reported that 75% of the participants felt less depressed (Sackett, 2010). James Blackburn (18) claims, “I feel at peace and enjoy life when I am outside” (Abramovitz., 2012). Specifically, vegetation in the environment is linked to better mental health. Additionally, physical activity enhances the reduction of depression. Another study conducted, states that 90% of people felt that the combination of exercise and nature helps their mental health state (Sackett, 2010).
An organization called The Wildlife Trusts developed a huge campaign called 30 Days Wild which asked people to engage with nature every single day for 30 days. 12,400 people signed up for this campaign. This large experiment shows a common theme is that the participant’s overall mental health improves (Richardson, Cormack, McRobert, and Underhill, 2016).
Fake nature has its health benefits as well. For example, listening to nature sounds helps people recover from stress (Sifferlin, 2016). Gardening, in general, is known to reduce stress and improve someone’s mood. Leigh Ann Starling, a president of the American Horticultural Therapy session, claims that many patients are struggling with uncontrollable circumstances and working with plants is a gentle way to process these struggles. Starling believes horticultural therapy speeds up the recovery process. Horticulture therapy was even used on veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder after World War I. Gwen Fried, a manager of NYU Langone’s horticultural services department, believes gardening is a fairly accessible skill and incorporates it into their existing therapeutic practices (Shechet, n.d.). People living in an urban area are more likely to have anxiety and depression than those living in rural areas. Children in Robert Zarr’s (a Unity Health Care Pediatrician and park-prescription advocate) clinic come from low-income families and rarely get outside. These children suffer from obesity, asthma, depression, anxiety, and ADHD (Seltenrich, 2015). Also, Milena Heinsch, a social worker, claims that nature should be incorporated into social work. She states that even exposure to nature indoors can help. For example, indoor plants in hospital rooms can help reduce emotional tension (Heinsch, 2012). There was also an experiment conducted where people were told to walk for three hours. They were separated into two groups. One group hiked on a mountain while the other group walked on a treadmill indoors. After mountain hiking outside, participants claim they felt calmer and less anxious compared to walking on a treadmill indoors (Niedermeier, Einwanger, Hartl, and Kopp, 2017). An organization called The Wildlife Trusts developed a huge campaign called 30 Days Wild which asked people to engage with nature every single day for 30 days. 12,400 people signed up for this campaign. After this experiment, participants reported feeling calmer and less anxious (Richardson, Cormack, McRobert, and Underhill, 2016).
Another benefit of coming in contact with nature is it reduces stress and anxiety. A study by Nancy Wells, an environmental psychologist from Cornell University, shows that children who have access to nature areas cope with stress better. Children who receive more vitamin G, which is time spent in green spaces, have lower stress (Mahoney, 2007). Yoshifumi Miyazaki (a forest therapy expert) discovered that people who spent 40 minutes walking in a forest have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is also associated with blood pressure (high blood pressure is linked to stress). Another researcher named Dr. Qing Li found that trees emit aromatic compounds called phytoncides. When phytoncides are inhaled they trigger biological changes that are similar to aromatherapy.
Even people without ADHD are able to improve their concentration levels by interacting with nature. Additionally, a view of nature is associated with increased cognitive abilities. One study by the University of Michigan found that by going on a nature walk, the participants' short term memory increased by 20% and if they were to take a walk in an urban setting there was no improvement (Sifferlin, 2016). Being outdoors increases creativity. Thinking and walking outdoors increases “creative ideation” by 75% (Bean, 2017).
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Coming in contact with nature reduces symptoms of ADHD and improves a person's cognitive ability. Hannah Smith (18) claims, “I tend to be more alert and observant being outdoors so much” (Abramovitz, 2012). A study in 2011 by Ming Kuo who is an environmental and behavioral scientist at the University of Illinois, discovered that children who played outdoors experienced milder ADHD symptoms.
Exposure to nature causes a person to become more generous and take on leadership roles. There was a case study about a 17-year-old male named Sam. Before the experiment, Sam was a shy, overweight kid who had few friends, had a low self-esteem, and spent most of his time playing video games. During the summer, Sam went on a backpacking trip with eight other teens for 5 days. The trip was mostly backpacking but it was enhanced with ecotherapy, a treatment experience. Throughout the trip, Sam emerged as a leader by checking up on his other peers. Sam reported a gain of self-confidence (Sackett, 2010). Ecotherapy is a wide range of treatment programs that aims to improve one’s physical and mental well-being through doing outdoor activities in nature. Ecotherapy improves a person's self-esteem. This causes people to speak up and emerge as leaders (Making Sense of Ecotherapy, n.d.). Additionally, exposure to nature increases awe which is associated with being less selfish and behaving in more generous ways (Sifferlin, 2016).
Coming in contact with nature helps children perform well in school. A study showed that when students grew plants they scored 12% higher on academic tests (Mahoney, 2007). Hannah Smith (18) is a student at a school in Vermont. Her school conducted a study called the Walden Project where they held classes outside. Smith claims, “I didn't really care about my education. Being outdoors automatically makes me happier and more focused. I take so much inspiration from nature. Now, I care about my education and I am excited to learn (Abramovitz, 2012). ” Especially for children, being in nature improves test scores, self-discipline, reduces behavioral problems, and symptoms of ADHD; all things that lead to bettering their education. Overall, children who spend more time outside are more successful in school (Mahoney, 2007). Also, a social worker named Milena Heinsch claims that contact with nature in children enhances their capacity to cope with challenges. This helps them with the many challenges they encounter in school (Heinsch, 2012).
Participating in outdoor activities motivates a person. Robert Zarr, a Unity Health Care Pediatrician and park-prescription advocate, mentions that after he prescribes a park prescription, the patient goes outside more often (Seltenrich, 2015). At NYU, Langone, says working with plants is used to motivate a patient in a difficult therapy session (Shechet, n.d.). Norwegian scientists discovered that people who exercise outdoors are 160% more motivated to continue to work out than the people who work out indoors (Bean, 2017). The case about a 17-year-old boy named Sam who used to play a lot of video games, was overweight, and was unmotivated supports this claim. He went on a backpacking trip during the summer. By the end of the trip, Sam was motivated to incorporate exercise into his life and then continued on to lose 30 pounds (Sackett, 2010).
There is also a program in Belo Horizonte, Brazil called Acadêmicas de Cidade. The program aims to promote physical activity and people’s quality of life by providing free access to activities such as gymnastics, dance, walking, and other sports. 1,581 people participated in this program. The study discovered that people who lived closer to areas where exercise was available, participated in physical activity more frequently than those who lived farther away from these areas. The more the participants participated in activities, the more motivated they were to do it more frequently (Andrade, Mingoti, Fernandes, Friche, and Xavier 2018). Additionally, research has found that young people in a drug rehab program were more willing to participate in counseling when in an outdoor setting (Heinsch, 2012).
Nature helps patients to recover faster. Dr. G. Miller and Robert Zarr state they will give some patients “park prescriptions” because being outdoors is good for one’s overall health (Abramovitz, 2012) (Seltenrich, 2015). For example, a hospital patient with a view of trees is released sooner and requires less pain medication than those patients who had a view of a brick wall (Sifferlin, 2016). Also, Milena Heinsch believes that for hospitals, the bedside curtains should have nature prints because viewing nature has been found to increase pain tolerance (Heinsch, 2012). Specifically, gardening like activities makes patients feel better. A horticultural therapist named Lori Bloomberg had patients in a hospital participating in arranging bamboo sticks in a vase. Many of the patients described the activity as relaxing. The act of helping nurture a plant, aides in the process of recovery for the patients. Gwen Fried, a manager of NYU Langone’s horticultural services department, states that many of the patients are reluctant, at first, to participate in these gardening activities, but after they do, they want to continue doing them. At NYU, Langone, says working with plants is used to promote a sense of mindfulness, and to distract or motivate a patient in a difficult therapy session. Leigh Ann Starling (a president of the American Horticultural Therapy session) claims that many patients are struggling with uncontrollable circumstances and working with plants is a gentle way to process these struggles (Shechet, n.d.).
Outdoor activity lowers a person’s high blood pressure. A study by Danielle Shanahan, a researcher in biodiversity at the University of Queensland concluded that high blood pressure affects every one in three Americans. Visiting nature is an affordable way to lower high blood pressure (Sifferlin, 2016). Even just short exposure to nature helps reduce high blood pressure (Cox, Shanahan, Hudson, Fuller, Anderson, Hancock, and Gaston, 2017). A large study in 2016, by Danielle Shanahan, found that 10% of people with high blood pressure were able to lower their blood pressure when they spent 30 minutes in a park each week.
Yoshifumi Miyazaki (a forest therapy expert) discovered that people who spent 40 minutes walking in a forest had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is also associated with high blood pressure (Sifferlin, 2016). Also, it is very common that outdoor activities include physical activity. A health benefit of physical activity is that it can help lower blood pressure (Physical activity - it's important, 2012).
Being in nature promotes cancer fighting cells. When a person inhales phytoncides (which are found in nature), it increases their intake of natural killer cells which are a type of white blood cell that helps the immune system and is linked to lowering the risk of cancer. A study by Dr. Quing Li (a researcher at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo) in 2010, found that people’s natural cancer killing cells increased by 50% and increased the activity of the cells by 56% when they took two long walks in a forest (Sifferlin, 2016). Also, being in the sun also helps create vitamin D which promotes cancer fighting cells (Mahoney, 2007). Also, it is very common that outdoor activities include physical activity. A health benefit of physical activity is that it can help reduce the risk of developing cancer (Physical activity - it's important, 2012).
Being in nature helps prevent or reduce the symptoms of illnesses or diseases. Weaving nature into life lowers the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, reduced stress, reduced respiratory allergies, and illness. Trees have both a positive and negative effect on asthma, respiratory illness, and allergies. Vegetation also has pros and cons. It filters pollutants in the air but it also releases harmful aerosols in the form of pollen. Trees improve air quality by filtering particulate matter. It increases vegetation cover which leads to a decrease in the rate of cardiovascular disease (Shanahan, Lin, Bush, Gaston, Dean, Barber, & Fuller, 2015). Yoshifumi Miyazaki, a forest therapy expert, discovered that people who spent 40 minutes walking in a forest had lower levels of cortisol. Cortisol is associated with immune function (Sifferlin, 2016). Another study states that just by having plant diversity promotes the reduction of allergies (Shanahan, Lin, Bush, Gaston, Dean, Barber, & Fuller, 2015). Doctor Robert Zarr prescribes his patients “park prescriptions” because of the benefits of reducing illness and disease (Seltenrich, 2015).
Outdoor activities improve social cohesion. A survey with 1,000 participants was conducted by Danielle Shanahan, a biodiversity researcher with a Ph.D. at the University of Queensland, and the survey came to the conclusion that green spaces promote a sense of connection to the outside world which enhances social and community interactions (Shanahan, Lin, Bush, Gaston, Dean, Barber, & Fbbbbuller, 2015)(Cox, Shanahan, Hudson, Fuller, Anderson, Hancock, and Gaston, 2017). Ecotherapy is defined as “the implementation and interventions aimed at improving psychological functioning through the use of green spaces. Ecotherapy may lead to more physical and social activity (Sackett, 2010). Also, ecotherapy can even help develop a person’s social life by introducing them to new people, lessening isolation, building a peer support network, creating more structure to the week, and helping make connections to people (Making Sense of Ecotherapy, n.d.).
