NYAPRS Note: The article below about a new study offering the benefits of walking or cycling to and from work is an important piece of a larger puzzle about how exercising outside improves mental health. While brief stints of exercise before and after long periods of sitting has been shown to have excellent overall health impacts, there is also research that links morning exposure to sunshine—for as little as ten minutes—to improved mental health, sleep, and overall well-being. This is important to remember as the summer sun begins to fade and we have fewer options to enjoy the warm outdoors. But don’t dismiss this information just because you can’t walk or cycle to work; consider taking your morning coffee outside before work, or take a quick walk down the street before getting into your car. Make a little extra time every morning for activity in the sunshine, and see if you can notice a difference in your daily life!
How Walking, Cycling Improves Mental Health
The Health Site; 9/15/14
A new study has observed that walking or cycling to work can improve people’s mental health as compared to driving. The study conducted by University of East Anglia and the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) showed that people who stopped driving and started walking or cycling to work benefited from improved wellbeing.
Lead researcher Adam Martin, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said that one surprising finding was that commuters reported feeling better when travelling by public transport, compared to driving. The research team studied 18 years of data on almost 18,000 18-65-year-old commuters in Britain. Martin continued that their study showed that the longer people spend commuting in cars, the worse their psychological wellbeing and correspondingly, people felt better when they had a longer walk to work.
The data allowed the researchers to look at multiple aspects of psychological health including feelings of worthlessness, unhappiness, sleepless nights, and being unable to face problems. The researchers also accounted for numerous factors known to affect wellbeing, including income, having children, moving house or job, and relationship changes.
http://www.thehealthsite.com/news/how-walking-cycling-improves-mental-health/