It’s no mystery that a nice stroll or bike ride through a lush city park is relaxing, but until now no one has been able to scientifically prove that a walk in the park actually eases brain fatigue. In classic tests, participants where shown pictures of nature in tightly monitored laboratories that measured levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) in saliva. Or tests where given to those who lived nearby parks and compared to those who lived in the urban core.
But a new study that used mobile light-weight electroencephalograms attached to study participants was able to test on the ground to gain valuable insight into what happens to the brain during a walk in the park. What researchers found was that brain fatigue is reduced.
Via New York Times. Image via Wikicommons.
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One comment
If you look at the full article, it also looks like walking in a low-traffic pedestrian-friendly shopping area of a city also has a pretty calming effect – the participants calmed considerably over the course of the walk in that area. The busy high-traffic area then created stress (though also stimulation).
This is the link to the full article (visible if you’re on a university or other account that has a subscription).
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2013/03/05/bjsports-2012-091877.long