Scenario: You are currently in an intense period at work or personally trying and your stress level is high. What is the best way you use to regulate yourself? Have a glass of wine? Listen to music ? Meditate? Go out and move outside?
The chances that you have chosen the last option, that of moving outside, are very high! If so, that's perfect, since it's the one that seems to have the most impact on your stress level.
A study published in the journal Behavioral Sciences by university researchers from the states of Indiana and Illinois in the United States has uncovered several interesting aspects of the restorative abilities of going outside to move.
The study compared three different physical activity settings: a wilderness area, an urban park, and a gym. Scientists measured the stress levels of 105 participants using psychological tests and saliva tests to measure cortisol (the stress hormone) and alpha-amylase enzyme levels.
The two tests were therefore carried out on the participants before carrying out a running session or a walk in one of the following three locations: a 1-acre forest (Griffy Lake Nature Preserve), an urban park of 200 acres and a treadmill in a standard weight room.
Visitors to all three sites experienced a reduction in their stress levels. However, visitors to the wild place and the urban park showed an increase in their happiness levels, but a decrease in cortisol level was only detected in visitors to the wild place.
Scientific theories therefore point to the fact that the wilder the outdoor site, the greater the reduction in stress. For what ?
A psycho-evolutionary theory mentions that the outdoor environment in the wild would be effective in reducing stress levels because it offers specific attributes that our species considered to have inherent survival qualities, such as water and l spatial opening.
Another theory is that of attention restoration, according to which irregular shapes and patterns found in nature gently and slowly stimulate our brains by attracting our attention. This would allow our minds to wander or even take a break from the almost constant effort that we must provide in an urban environment.
To discover other benefits of physical activity in nature, we invite you to read the article 6 good reasons to do outdoor activities.
In Quebec, we are lucky since most cities have a few interesting urban parks to “get away” for a few moments and they are not far from wilder sites: it is therefore feasible to plan a little getaway of half a year. -day on the weekend without having to travel long distances.
Happy recharging!
It makes me feel good to read the articles you produce in Défientreprises, it helps me stay motivated.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Danielle
It’s a pleasure Danielle!
Very interesting. I understand better now why I love going on trails so much 😉