Just 20 minutes in an urban park will boost happiness, new study finds - and you don't have to exercise
- Researchers at University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a study
- Found that spending 20 minutes in an urban park boosts emotional wellness
- Study was based on results from 98 adults who visited three different parks
- Researchers say visitors to the park do not need to exercise to get benefits
Spending just 20 minutes in an urban park will make a person happier regardless of whether they’re exercising, a new study has found.
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a study which found that urban parks allow users to experience the natural environment, which in turn yields physical and mental health benefits including stress reduction and recovery from mental fatigue.
The study and its findings were published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research.
‘Overall, we found park visitors reported an improvement in emotional well-being after the park visit,’ said Hon K. Yuen, the study’s principal investigator.
Researchers at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (above) conducted a study which found that spending 20 minutes in a public park improves mood
‘However, we did not find levels of physical activity are related to improved emotional well-being.
‘Instead, we found time spent in the park is related to improved emotional well-being.’
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The study’s authors said that even those who are unable to perform physical activities due to aging or disability can still derive benefits from visiting urban parks.
The authors collected data from 98 adults who visited one of three urban parks in Mountain Brook, Alabama - Overton, Jemison, and Cahaba River Walk.
The three parks were chosen because they are the three main public parks in Mountain Brook, according to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The authors of the study collected data from 98 adults who visited local parks in Mountain Brook, Alabama, including Overton Park (seen above)
The feedback from the adults led researchers to conclude that green spaces in urban environments promote emotional well-being and that more of them are necessary.
‘There is increasing pressure on green space within urban settings,’ said Gavin Jenkins, the study’s co-author.
‘Planners and developers look to replace green space with residential and commercial property.
‘The challenge facing cities is that there is an increasing evidence about the value of city parks but we continue to see the demise of theses spaces.’
