Page 50 - Time Special Edition Alternative Medicine (January 2020)

Let

Nature

Heal

A walk in the park will

boost your health. It can

make you happier too
BY JAMIE DUCHARME

spending Time ouTdoors, especially in green

spaces, is an effective way to improve your health
and happiness. It’s been shown to lower stress,
blood pressure and heart rate while encourag-
ing physical activity and buoying mood and men-
tal health. Some research even suggests that green
space is associated with a lower risk of developing
psychiatric disorders.
A recent study published in the International satisfaction and mood—which were used to calcu-
Journal of Environmental Health Research adds to late a score of subjective well-being before and after

the evidence and shows how little time it takes to their park visit.
get the benefits of being outside. Spending just 30 The average park visit lasted 32 minutes, and
minutes in a park—even if you don’t exercise while even though just 30% of people engaged in physi-
you’re there—is enough to improve well-being, ac- cal activity while there, well-being scores rose dur-
cording to the research. ing the park visit in 60% of people. For a substan-
For the study, researchers surveyed 94 adults who tial number of people in the study, simply being in
visited one of three urban parks near Birmingham, green space seemed to be enough to spark a change,

Ala., over the summer and fall. They were given fit- says study co-author Hon Yuen, director of research
ness trackers to measure physical activity but were in the occupational-therapy department at the Uni-
not told what to do in the park or how long to stay. versity of Alabama at Birmingham.
Each person also answered questions about their life “Some people may go to the park and just enjoy

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