Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Visiting Mother Nature Is Healthy


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Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/p0RaIAnS2mY

Spending 2 or more hours a week outdoors in nature is associated with better health.  This conclusion stems from a study at Britain’s University of Exeter.

The investigators studied close to 20,000 men and women, and they surveyed them for time spent in natural environments and their self-reported health status.  The odds of a person reporting excellent, very good, or good general health only begins to significantly increase after 2 to 2.5 hours per week out in nature.

An exploration of the data shows that it mattered little if the outdoor exposure occurred close to home or during a day trip to a park.  Exercising while outdoors was not a factor though those doing so seemed to gain psychologic benefits.

So get outdoors as much as you possibly can but do push for at least 2 hours in nature.

Mathew P. White, Ian Alcock, James Grellier, etal.  Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing.  Scientific Reports 9, Article number: 7730 (2019).  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3

#Outdoors #health #exercise

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Dr. Howard Smith ReportsBy Howard G. Smith MD, AM