Cover photo courtesy of Gabe Mahan

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home”.

– John Muir 

The Problem

About 31% of adults around the world are inactive. Increasingly people are moving from rural to urban areas with less green space and media addiction is rising. Smartphones, TV, and computers tend to monopolize our time and take away from time being active or spending time outside.

Increased screen time has serious implications for our overall physical and mental health. Current research indicates that excessive screen time leads to increased obesity, anxiety, and depression. It is also a risk factor for, and not a just result of, mental health disorders.  All these factors can take a toll on our physical and mental well-being.

So What Can We Do?

If you are following Hearty Hiker, you probably have experienced firsthand the many of the benefits of enjoying the outdoors. However, you may not be aware that research is showing that exercise combined with spending time outside, i.e. green exercise, can be even more beneficial for our mental and physical well-being. 

Here are my main takeaways after researching green exercise

Greater than the sum of its parts

Exercise and viewing nature independently improve mood, cognition, blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels. Lowering stress hormone levels, like cortisol, leads to improved immune function and increased production of anti-cancer proteins.

However, when exercise and being in nature are combined, they form a powerful team. Fascinatingly, exercising when combined with being outside or in a simulated outdoor environment appears to have a synergistic effect. In other words, there are greater mental and physiological benefits with them combined vs. individually. 

Green exercise efficiently and effectively deals with stress

There is still research needed to determine the optimal dosage of green exercise to reap the maximal health benefits. However, one study described how exercising outside caused improved mood after just 5 minutes of moderate activity! This suggests that you don’t have to be an elite athlete or a thru-hiker to get the benefits of green exercise.

Current recommendations are that adults complete a minimum of moderate exercise for 150 minutes/week or vigorous activity 75 minutes/week. What is moderate vs. vigorous activity?  There are a few simple ways to categorize activity intensity. The easiest and cheapest way is the “talk test”. If you are exercising and can still talk, but not sing, you are in a good moderate intensity zone. Above this threshold and you are getting into the vigorous intensity level.

Alternatively, a fitness tracker can provide great insight into your heart rate zone. The “cardio” zone is consistent with moderate intensity.

You may not have to be outside to reap some benefit

If you do not have access to a greenspace, consider putting on a nature show while exercising inside or exercising near a window. Another study indicated that even simulated green exercise provides greater benefits than working out in a setting with no exposure to nature. 

Green exercise increases likelihood of activity becoming a habitual part of your life

Moderate-intensity activity, whether it is walking, dancing, running, biking have all been shown to decrease depression and anxiety. However, people who exercise outside vs. inside have a higher likelihood of making it a habit. There is also some evidence that green exercise may seem less like work; study participants who walked outside vs. inside walked at a faster pace and at the same time reported decreased fatigue. 

Final thoughts: Life Span vs. Health Span

It’s not enough to just live longer (life span). Your ability to do what you enjoy during those years (health span) has immeasurable value too. Sticking to an exercise routine is key to long-term health. If green exercise truly improves compliance and decreases the perceived “work” of exercise, it’s a powerful way to encourage the normally inactive population to make exercise a regular part of their lives. Personally, I can’t think of a more effective tool to improve people’s physical and mental health.

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— Jules