Park longevity? 5 ways spending time in green spaces can improve your health
Lengthening your life can be a walk in the park.We know that being in nature is great for you, but that doesn’t mean you need to give up the perks of living in the city to access those benefits.That’s good news for the 80% of Americans who now live in urban areas.Research has exploded on how parks, pockets of natural life in a concrete cityscape, affect us.
And the answer is clear: These green spaces boost almost every aspect of our wellbeing, paving the way for a longer, healthier life.The link between health and greenery is something that’s been suspected for over 170 years, with designers like Frederick Law Olmstead seeing spaces like Central Park as an antidote to the rush and crowding of the big city.Here’s what we’ve learned in recent years about how these spaces boost our wellbeing.You don’t need real wildness to get the mental health benefits of being in nature.Just a 30 minute walk through an “urban forest” was shown to help with attention and mood compared to those stuck inside on a treadmill, a June study from China showed.Their self-esteem and enjoyment of the exercise also increased after their stroll in nature.Those who went on that walk also had lowered cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone.
They also had more parasympathetic activity, a system which helps the body relax and recover during periods of rest.A 2018 review of over 140 studies found broad benefits for a number of aspects of health.That included exceptional impacts for heart and vascular health.Authors found that more green space exposure was associated with lowered heart rate and diastolic blood pressure—the bottom number of a blood pressure reading, which measures the pressure in arteries as when the heart relaxes and fills with blood.This translated to lower incidence of stroke, hypertension (aka high blood pressure), dyslipidaemia (high fats in the blood stream), asthma and coronary heart disease.
It also meant a 16% lower chance of dying from heart issues a...