Countryside or beach better for the brain than city spaces

Time spent in the countryside or on a beach is better for your brain than trips to city gardens or parks, a new study has found.

Researchers say that those visiting rural and coastal locations are more psychologically content than those taking a trip to an urban green space.

It was also found that visits to natural areas of protected or designated status like national parks results in improved mental wellbeing.

 

Time spent in the countryside or on a beach is better for your brain than trips to city gardens or parks. Researchers say that those visiting rural and coastal locations are more psychologically content than those who take a trip to an urban green space (stock image)

SELF-ESTEEM

A breath of fresh air is not just good for our health, it can also help us feel confident about how we look.

Research published last year found people who spend more time outside have a more positive body image and higher self-esteem.

The study of 199 women and 200 men aged between 19 and 76 from the US, was led by Viren Swami, professor of social psychology at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

He said that experiencing natural environments could help boost the feeling of being an important part of a wider ecosystem, meaning people felt more respect for their bodies.

It could also help people feel further removed from pressures of society and lessen the need to conform to stereotypes, such as being thin or muscular. 

Asking participants to describe their visits and overall experience, the team found that trips to nature were linked to greater feelings of relaxation and refreshment.

This was especially true of visits to rural or coastal locations, and to protected sites, which were also linked to stronger emotional connections to the natural world.

Visits longer than 30 minutes were associated with a better connection and so had greater psychological benefits.

The study, from researchers at the University of Surrey, University of Exeter, University of Plymouth, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and natural England, surveyed 4,500 people as they spent time in nature.

The team investigated for the first time how different environmental settings and their quality impacts psychological wellbeing.

Lead author of the paper Dr Kayleigh Wyles, from the University of Surrey, said: ‘We’ve demonstrated for some time that nature can be beneficial to us, but we’re still exploring how and why.

‘Here we have found that our mental wellbeing and our emotional bond with nature may differ depending on the type and quality of an environment we visit.

‘These findings are important as they not only help unpick the mechanisms behind these psychological benefits, but they can also help to prioritise the protection of these environments and emphasise why accessibility to nature is so important.’ 

The positive benefits of interaction with nature are well documented, with numerous studies reporting a reduction of stress levels in participants and an increase in overall wellbeing in those spending time in nature.

Visits to rural or coastal locations and protected sites were linked to stronger emotional connections to the natural world than trips to urban green spaces like New York’s Central Park (stock image)

Research published last year found people who spend more time outside have a more positive body image and higher self-esteem.

The study of 199 women and 200 men aged between 19 and 76 from the US, was led by Viren Swami, professor of social psychology at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

He said that experiencing natural environments could help boost the feeling of being an important part of a wider ecosystem, meaning people felt more respect for their bodies.

It could also help people feel further removed from pressures of society and lessen the need to conform to stereotypes, such as being thin or muscular. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk