Green Space & Wellbeing

“Green Exercise” is a term for active or passive engagement with greenspace and nature, which improves physical, mental and social health and wellbeing¹

You can participate in many ways, such as taking a walk in a greenspace, taking part in outdoor sports, gardening or tending to an allotment. These are just a few ways you can engage with nature and exercise your body too. It combines the benefits of physical exercise with the therapeutic benefits you can achieve from being outdoors.

Spending time outdoors to enjoy greenspace may promote healthier behaviours², and light exercise in the park could be one of the ways you integrate physical activity into your week. And if you are looking for more of a challenge, then outdoor activities of a higher intensity could be an important part of your fitness routine.

¹ Nature Scot: Green exercise and its benefits
² Hands, A., Stimpson, A., Ridgley, H. and Petrokofsky, C. (2020) Improving access to greenspace A new review for 2020. Public Health England. Available at: https://search.datacite.org/works/10.13140/rg.2.2.13674.54727

Wellbeing is an integration of mental health and physical health¹ and can also be affected by social interactions and life satisfaction. People who report a feeling of wellbeing usually judge parts of their lives in a positive way.

Contact with the natural environment can increase our general wellbeing as it introduces us to so many different positive aspects of life. When we encounter these out on a walk, or jogging in the park, they gradually help to increase our overall feeling of wellbeing.

Increased wellbeing can mean you feel more calm and peaceful, energetic and cheerful. It also leads to an increased sense of purpose in your life, in turn increasing life satisfaction. It also has health benefits such as adding years to life expectency, improving recovery from illness and is associated with positive health behaviours²

¹ CDC – Wellbeing Concepts
² UK Government 2014 Wellbeing: why it matters to health policy. Department of Health. Available at: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/wellbeing-why-it-matters-to-health-policy-health-is-the-top-thing-people-say-matters-to-their-wellbeing

There is growing evidence that spending time in a green environment can help to lower your stress levels¹. When we experience time in nature, there are many different features surrounding us that have been shown to affect our feelings of stress.

Certain smells have been shown to alleviate stress. The characteristic “green odour” of a park or other greenspace has been linked to stress reduction in animals², and there is further evidence that the smells of nature can lower physiological stress³. There’s also exciting research into how certain plant chemicals may affect our stress levels. Further to this, the presence of birdsong and other sounds associated with a diverse natural environment can also help reduce stress.

So breaking with your routine and visiting a local park or wood, you can take yourself away into a different space with smells and sounds that can help you take a moment of calm fow yourself.

Mood is also affected by visiting greenspace, and

¹ Hedblom, M., Gunnarsson, B., Iravani, B., Knez, I., Schaefer, M., Thorsson, P. and Lundström, J.N. (2019) ‘Reduction of physiological stress by urban green space in a multisensory virtual experiment’, Scientific Reports, 9(1), pp. 10113. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46099-7.
² Fujita, S., Ueki, S., Miyoshi, M. and Watanabe, T. (2010) ‘“Green odor” inhalation by stressed rat dams reduces behavioral and neuroendocrine signs of prenatal stress in the offspring’, Hormones and behavior, 58(2), pp. 264-272. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.03.007.
³ The Scientist – Smells of Nature Lower Physiological Stress

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