Green exercise
Encyclopedia
Green exercise refers to physical exercise
undertaken in relatively natural environment
s. Physical exercise is well known to provide health benefits. There is also good evidence that viewing and being in natural environments has calming and positive mood effects. The combination of these two elements (exercise and nature) leads to the notion of green exercise.
People and animals tend to naturally participate in green exercise, however its potential role in physical and mental health
(e.g., due to nature-deficit disorder) has attracted increasing attention during the 2000s, particularly through the research work of Prof. Jules Pretty at the University of Essex
. and several funded programs (see examples). The concept has grown out of well established areas such as attention restoration theory
within environmental psychology
which has tended to focus on the psychological and physical effects of viewing nature (e.g., see the work of Kaplan and Ulrich) and well-recognised work about the psychological benefits of physical exercise.
The largest study of green exercise involved meta-analytic
methodologies to analyse the results of 10 studies based on 1252 green exercise participants (Barton & Pretty, 2010). Results indicated that "the overall effect size for improved self-esteem was d = 0.46 (CI 0.34−0.59, p < 0.00001) and for mood d = 0.54 (CI 0.38−0.69, p < 0.00001). Dose responses for both intensity and duration showed large benefits from short engagements in green exercise, and then diminishing but still positive returns."
Physical exercise
Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, as well as for the purpose of...
undertaken in relatively natural environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
s. Physical exercise is well known to provide health benefits. There is also good evidence that viewing and being in natural environments has calming and positive mood effects. The combination of these two elements (exercise and nature) leads to the notion of green exercise.
People and animals tend to naturally participate in green exercise, however its potential role in physical and mental health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
(e.g., due to nature-deficit disorder) has attracted increasing attention during the 2000s, particularly through the research work of Prof. Jules Pretty at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
. and several funded programs (see examples). The concept has grown out of well established areas such as attention restoration theory
Attention Restoration Theory
Attention Restoration Theory asserts that people can concentrate better after spending time in nature, or even looking at scenes of nature. Natural environments abound with "soft fascinations" which a person can reflect upon in "effortless attention", such as clouds moving across the sky, leaves...
within environmental psychology
Environmental psychology
Environmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between humans and their surroundings. The field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments...
which has tended to focus on the psychological and physical effects of viewing nature (e.g., see the work of Kaplan and Ulrich) and well-recognised work about the psychological benefits of physical exercise.
Theory
Green exercise can be usefully considered from a number of theoretical perspectives including:- Exercise psychology
- biophiliaBiophilia HypothesisThe biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Edward O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his book entitled Biophilia.- Love of living systems :...
and evolutionary psychologyEvolutionary psychologyEvolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional... - Environmental psychologyEnvironmental psychologyEnvironmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between humans and their surroundings. The field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments...
theories, such as attention restoration theoryAttention Restoration TheoryAttention Restoration Theory asserts that people can concentrate better after spending time in nature, or even looking at scenes of nature. Natural environments abound with "soft fascinations" which a person can reflect upon in "effortless attention", such as clouds moving across the sky, leaves...
Research
The effects of green exercise on the following outcomes have been studied :- MoodMoodMood may refer to:*Mood , a relatively long lasting emotional state*Grammatical mood, one of a set of morphologically distinctive forms that are used to signal modality*Mood , a city in Iran*Mood District, a district in Iran...
- StressStress (biology)Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
- AnxietyAnxietyAnxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
The largest study of green exercise involved meta-analytic
Meta-analysis
In statistics, a meta-analysis combines the results of several studies that address a set of related research hypotheses. In its simplest form, this is normally by identification of a common measure of effect size, for which a weighted average might be the output of a meta-analyses. Here the...
methodologies to analyse the results of 10 studies based on 1252 green exercise participants (Barton & Pretty, 2010). Results indicated that "the overall effect size for improved self-esteem was d = 0.46 (CI 0.34−0.59, p < 0.00001) and for mood d = 0.54 (CI 0.38−0.69, p < 0.00001). Dose responses for both intensity and duration showed large benefits from short engagements in green exercise, and then diminishing but still positive returns."
Examples
Instances of green exercise are numerous and diverse. Some examples include:- Natural EnglandNatural EnglandNatural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...
is funding eight demonstration green exercise projects through local regional partnerships. The main aim is to increase levels of physical activity and people's connections to their local green spaces. - Green Exercise Partnership between NHS Health Scotland, FCS and Scottish Natural HeritageScottish Natural HeritageScottish Natural Heritage is a Scottish public body. It is responsible for Scotland's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government and acts as a government agent in the delivery of conservation designations, i.e...
(SNH). In partnership with SNH and NHS Health Scotland, the Scottish Government is providing £3 million funding to the Paths for All Partnership between 2007 and 2010 to develop its Paths to Health Initiative, which currently supports over 20,000 people to take part in health walks each week. SNH and Government funding is also being provided to BTCV to extend their green gym project. - Green GymGreen GymBTCV's Green Gym programme aims to provide people with a way to enhance their fitness and health while taking action to improve the outdoor environment...
programs are a type of green exercise. These generally involve organised groups which engage in volunteer environmental restoration work, but which are also specifically designed to provide physical exercise and physical conditioning in the context of experiencing natural environments. An example of such a green gym program are those conducted through the Australian Conservation FoundationAustralian Conservation FoundationThe Australian Conservation Foundation is an Australian non-profit, community-based environmental organisation focused on advocacy, policy research and community outreach.-History:...
which are based on similar programs conducted by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. - Barefoot runningBarefoot runningBarefoot running is running while barefoot—without wearing any shoes on the feet. Running in thin-soled, flexible shoes, often called minimalist running, such as moccasins is biomechanically related to running barefoot, but alters sensory feedback from the plantar mechanoreceptors...
is an example of a type of physical exercise (running) which is conducted so as to include a greater degree of contact with the surrounding environment (by going barefoot).
See also
- EcopsychologyEcopsychologyEcopsychology connects psychology and ecology. Its political and practical goals are to show humans ways of healing alienation and to build a "sane" society and a sustainable culture. Theodore Roszak is credited with coining the term in his 1992 book, The Voice of the Earth...
- Green GymGreen GymBTCV's Green Gym programme aims to provide people with a way to enhance their fitness and health while taking action to improve the outdoor environment...
- Green prescriptionGreen prescriptionA green prescription is a referral given by a doctor or nurse to a patient, with exercise and lifestyle goals written on them.The term, used by health practitioners in New Zealand draws parallel to the usual prescriptions given to patients for medications, and emphasises the importance of exercise...
- Horticultural therapy
- Care farmingCare farmingCare farming is the therapeutic use of farming practices. Care farms utilise the whole or part of a farm, provide health, social or educational care services for one or a range of vulnerable groups of people and provide a supervised, structured programme of farming-related activities.The purpose of...
External links
- Ecotherapy: The green agenda for mental health (Mind, 2007)
- Green exercise (greenexercise.org)
- Green exercise to get you moving, 16 July 2009 by Amy Taylor-Kabbaz
- Green exercise: Introduction (Walking for Health, Natural England)
- Green exercise and green care: Evidence, cohorts, lifestyles and health Outcomes (Barton, Hine and Pretty, 2009, University of Essex)
- Green exercise: The benefits of activities in green exercise (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006)
- Green exercise research by Jules Pretty (University of Essex)
- Green exercise: The psychological effects of exercising in nature by James Neill (University of Canberra)
- Healthy parks, healthy people (2nd edition March 2008 School of Health and Social Development Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences, Deakin University Burwood, Melbourne)
- Green exercise (Google search)
- Green exercise (delicious bookmarks)