![]() ![]() In addition, nature provides an environment that does not require our direct attention, giving nature restorative properties therefore allowing recovery from mental fatigue Our hunter-gatherer ancestors existed with the outdoor natural environment for thousands of years, and it is hypothesised that this provides present day humans with an innate affiliation with nature Subsequently, how and why the great outdoors may elicit health benefits has become a focal point for research. A study in the early 21st century has further supported this belief, demonstrating an association between improved health outcomes and amount of surrounding ‘green space’ For example, in the UK during the 19th century Industrial Revolution, wealthy philanthropists developed urban parks for the benefit of the public’s health, and hospital gardens were considered an important addition for their believed healing properties Green or natural spaces have been considered to be advantageous for health for many years. With the multiplicity of the ‘great outdoors’ including forests, seaside, countryside, parks, local green areas and even gardens, another conversation considers the role of environment in benefiting human health. Alternatively, they express the growing human population’s ongoing tendency to negatively influence the delicate balance of nature, which developed for millions of years prior to our evolutionary invasion. These usually concern the extreme environmental demands such as those seen at high altitude, at depth or in extremes of temperature. Most discussions of human interactions with the environment concern the potential challenges they place on one another. The synergistic combination of exercise and exposure to nature and thus the ‘great outdoors’ could be used as a powerful tool to help fight the growing incidence of both physical inactivity and non-communicable disease. Barriers exist, and it is important that these are considered when discussing how to make exercise in the outdoors accessible and beneficial for all. However, people’s connectedness to nature appears to be changing and this has important implications as to how humans are now interacting with nature. It also addresses the additional physiological and mental health benefits that appear to occur when exercise is performed in an outdoor environment. This review considers the declining levels of physical activity, particularly in the Western world, and how the environment may help motivate and facilitate physical activity. It is well known that physical activity improves both physiological and psychological well-being, but further evidence is required to ascertain how different environments influence and shape health. The studies of human and environment interactions usually consider the extremes of environment on individuals or how humans affect the environment.
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