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This podcast is one minute long. If you listen while going for a walk in a park or working in a garden, you’re 20 percent of the way to giving your mental health a good boost.
Because exercising in natural areas is not only good for your physical health—it can improve your mood and sense of well-being in as little as five minutes. So says research in the journal Environmental Health and Technology.
Exercise alone is known to make you happier. So is being in a natural setting. So scientists at the University of Essex wanted to see the effect of combining the two. They evaluated 10 different UK studies involving more than 1,200 people.
Participants had taken part in activities such as gardening, sailing and country walks, and rated their mood and self-esteem.
The research showed that both areas get a significant boost with as little as five minutes of outdoor exercise. And people with mental disorders benefitted the most. The study authors say this is the first study to quantify the amount of time needed to get a positive effect. So download a few podcasts and head out for a walk in the park.
—Cynthia Graber
[The above text is an exact transcript of the audio in the podcast.]
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6 Comments
Add CommentI do exercise every day such as jogging in park ,doing YOGA.People with mental disorders benifitted the most.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe 5 minutes or little bit more per day with Jessica Alba can show up the same results. Can I be a tester?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe 5 minutes or a little bit more per day with Jessica Alba can show up the same results. Can I be a tester?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLove it, and I love being outside.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this#14 of ruHap's 14 Ways to be Happier Right Now: Stay Active.
The rest:
1. Try
2. Act Happy
3. Appreciate the Moment
4. Simplify
5. Tiggers, not Eeyores
6. Set Goals
7. Help Others
8. Express Gratitude
9. � TV
10. Show Compassion
11. Focus
12. Listen Carefully
13. Hug
More information on each can be found at http://ruhap.com/content/freeresources/14ways/
ruHaps free website (www.ruhap.com) contains extensive Happiness Resources, a Daily Happiness Quote, a blog (How to be Happy) and much more. ruHap brings the leading academic Happiness research to users in small, fun, bite sized pieces.
Thanks, and Be Happy,
Gregory S. Barsh, Esq.
Chief Happiness Officer
ruHap, The Happiness Company
Follow our blog How to be Happier at http://ruhap.com/content/category/blog/
www.ruhap.com
Hi,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat article. Reminds me of ruHap's 13th way to be Happy.
RuHap, The Happiness Company, helps our users be Happier by following ruHap’s 14 Ways to be Happier Right Now:
1.Try
2.Act Happy
3.Appreciate the Moment
4.Simplify
5.Tiggers, not Eeyores
6.Set Goals
7.Help Others
8.Express Gratitude
9.↓ TV
10.Show Compassion
11.Focus
12.Listen Carefully
13.Hug
14.Stay Active
More information on each can be found at http://ruhap.com/content/freeresources/14ways/
ruHap’s free website (www.ruhap.com) contains extensive Happiness Resources, a Daily Happiness Quote, a blog (How to be Happy) and much more. ruHap brings the leading academic Happiness research to users in small, fun, bite sized pieces.
Thanks, and Be Happy,
Gregory S. Barsh, Esq.
Chief Happiness Officer
ruHap, The Happiness Company
Follow our blog “How to be Happier” at http://ruhap.com/content/category/blog/
www.ruhap.com
Nice article. And so, I did some research and found that this study was actually published in Environmental Science and Technology: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es903183r
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this