Every time I walk down the street, the fallen leaves wrinkle under my feet. The path follows a stream, murmuring over smooth gray stones, and a breeze rustles the branches overhead. Now compare that mental image of bliss to anything you might pass by on the street: traffic, crowds, concrete and glass. Which do you think is better for you?
walk in nature was shown Promotes physical and mental health, reduces stress and restores alertness. But researchers have found that walking in urban areas also has many mental health benefits.
just have to find the right way And pay attention to your surroundings.
Don’t underestimate street trees
“Look at the greenery. Most cities have greenery. You can find nice trees everywhere,” says Whitney Fleming, an environmental psychology researcher at Bangor University in Wales, UK.
Walking, she said, is considered moderate exercise. good for you in general;Can lower your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, depression, and many types of cancer. Walking in nature goes beyond the benefits of physical activity. “Humans have an innate evolutionary tendency to love nature.”
Fleming’s study found that people who were asked to pay attention to plants during a walk had significantly less anxiety afterwards than those who were asked to focus on man-made elements. The former group reported feeling more positive emotions.
“Having natural elements in cities is very important given these effects, because you don’t need to be in a natural environment to benefit from them,” she says.
This article is part of AP’s Be Well coverage, which focuses on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Hope you are well.
However, lively squares and buildings can offer a “soft charm” of their own.
César San Juan Guillén, a professor of social psychology at the University of the Basque Country in Spain, said some researchers dispute the idea that cities are inherently stressful.
Until recently, he said, most environmental studies were biased toward the built environment, comparing natural environments to stressful urban environments such as busy roads.
San Juan Guillen compared people who spent time in lush city parks with those who went to lively plazas with historic churches, playgrounds and bars. Both improved cognitive performance and attention, and decreased negative emotions such as anxiety, hostility and fatigue, he said.
However, the group in the more crowded square felt even more energized and less stressed.
For example, spending time in historic urban areas, walking through cemeteries, and admiring panoramic views evokes “a kind of soft fascination,” San Juan Guillen said.
“This kind of involuntary attention may be more effective[in restoring]the kind of attention that is depleted in work or study,” he says.
Find the “Kiss Test” walk
Tristan Cleveland, an urban planning consultant with Canadian company Happy Cities, said the fields of environmental psychology, neuroscience and architecture are drawing on each other’s research to better understand how people interact with their built environments.
“When you have a blank wall, people actually walk past it faster, as if they were trying to escape,” said Cleveland, who earned his doctorate from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. “And when you see a friend, you’re less likely to stop and talk to them.”
When considering where to walk in a city, Cleveland suggested looking for places that exude a soft charm. If you pass the “first kiss test” of where you’re likely to take someone on a date, you’ll know their destination and route, he says.
Annabelle Abbs-Street, author of The Walking Cure and 52 Ways to Walk, said she has experienced that blissful feeling in many different places. She suggested finding a walkable city like Boston. Taos, New Mexico. and Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Or, find the historic cemetery closest to your home. Abstreet is a fan of London’s “Magnificent Seven” Victorian-era cemeteries.
“It’s not that green is good and gray is terrible,” Abbstreet says. “The truth is, green and gray are very different, and sometimes that difference can be a good thing.”
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Albert Stam writes about wellness, travel, and food. To find his work, https://www.albertstumm.com
