A little added nature in your exercise goes a long way
With sportspeople off, healthcare workers are the high-performance operators still standing and they, like the rest of us, can take a benefit from meaningful time outdoors.
GRASS GROWS THROUGH the cobbles and a fox was spotted padding between Brown Thomas and Marks and Spencer, two small snippets from Dublin’s Grafton Street provided us all with a small chance to stop and enjoy a moment of wonder this past week.
The stay at home messaging to curb the spread of Covid-19 has decimated footfall on the capital’s primary shopping street, showing that even the most paved and scrubbed areas in the country can make room for flashes of nature.
Physical activity in nature makes you feel positive & full of vitality.
Sport Ireland and Mental Health Ireland recently unveiled the Nature Moves campaign, highlighting benefits of even the most simple of interactions with outdoor green spaces while the acronym (notice, active, time, understand, revisit and energise) encourages mindfulness of flora and fauna when taking exercise in the open air.
On its surface, the message can seem fairly self-evident. Yet even people who intrinsically know the outdoors makes them feel good, a nudge back there does no harm. And although the cynics among us will find cause to brush off sage advice as anything from the blatantly obvious to tree-hugging cod science, there is a formidable body of evidence behind it.
“Nature automatically engages us in a different mindset, outside the structure of normal life or a profession. It helps us ease stress,” says Dr Tadhg MacIntyre, course director of sport and performance psychology at the University of Limerick.
MacIntyre also heads up the GoGreen initiative – focused on the hard science behind our relationship with nature and so when he cites such benefits they are not mere claims, but findings from an exhaustive body of research contained in a book edited by himself and Dr Aoife Donnelly last year, Physical Activity in Natural Settings.
“It does provide us with a sanctuary for recovery. In many ways, it provides us with a challenge. You don’t go for a walk in your slippers. You have to dress for it, you have to be prepared for it. You can be rained on, you could trip. All of that is ‘a challenge’ in nature and that makes it such a wonderful environment.”
Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Comprising findings from across decades and a variety of authors, the book details both the firm nuts and bolts of measuring real and relative cognitive responses in the brain when exposed to natural surroundings and also the tougher-to-grasp work examining different views on the meaning of life. Nature features heavily in such responses with many cited works saying ‘that meaning involves something that goes beyond a single individual’s concerns, transcending the individual’s life.’
“Here we’ve got good and recent Irish evidence,” says CEO of Mental Health Ireland, Martin Rogan, “that, not only does it sound intuitively like a good idea, you can study it and see the difference when people get exercise out in daylight – which is essentially our natural habitat.
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“Four and a half million years of evolution says that’s where we’re supposed to be. We’re designed to be active. So not being active works against our natural design.”
That much was evident when the country began to shut down to slow the spread of Covid-19 during the ‘delay phase’ last month and people flocked to places like Glendalough and other areas of nature across the island.
However, reaping benefits from an interaction with nature doesn’t necessarily require a trek into wilderness. Most people in Ireland would have been able to find enough greenery in the two-kilometre radius allowed for exercise. With five kilometres to explore, we’ll surely find at least a patch of grass in the cobbles or a tree branch to notice, understand and revisit.
“What’s relevant now is what people have on their doorstep,” says Dr. Una May, director of participation in Sport Ireland.
“What’s interesting is the awareness that has been raised for some about what is available near their home. I think we’re not always aware the extent of what’s in reach from our houses. There’s a tendency to get in the car and go to a favourite place and overlook something closer to home.”
That tendency has been rattled these past six weeks with the sports governing body unveiling survey figures showing an 8% reduction in the number of inactive adults and extra walkers and runners numbering close to half a million apiece.
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“Often there are some very elaborate solutions,” says Rogan, taking Nature Moves purely from a mental wellbeing standpoint for a moment, “it’s designed to sound simple, but it has a strong science base behind it.
“We (in Mental Health Ireland) have a model called five ways to wellbeing – a bit like the five-a-day with fruit and veg - connecting, be active, keep learning, take notice and give.
“Like most coping strategies, most of us have a preferred channel. Some are really good at getting active, others at the education side. Each of us has our own mentality. Like a balanced diet, we’d encourage people to try a mixed diet of coping strategies: this one combines getting outdoors, taking notice of nature, exercise and actually learning something new.”
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
MacIntyre has worked a great deal with athletes in all codes on this island and the recommendations go equally for them: get outside to train, if you can set up a workout routine outdoors, all the better, it can have greater mental benefit than the same circuit indoors.
Right now, though, the high-performance group we’re all relying on to manage and ease the pandemic are the medics on the frontline. They are the people operating in high-pressure situations with minimal time off and under the constant threat of infection.
Crucially, even a brief interaction with nature can bring about a positive impact not just on mental health, but for cognitive performance through improved concentration.
“If you’re a healthcare worker, say, it can be really hard to get green exercise or physical activity in a natural setting,” says Dr MacIntyre.
“Instead what we’re suggesting as an exploration is ‘digital nature,’ put your favourite piece of nature on your phone. It could be 30 seconds of birdsong, scenes from your holidays, a tree near your home; looking at that for between 30 seconds and two minutes gives you a micro-break and those micro-breaks help.
“Not so much with your mood, but with your concentration. Your attention is enhanced by a micro-break with natural stimuli. That’s amazing, because they’re going back and have to know procedures and follow them, particularly now, everything is very structured. So their attention is hugely important.
“The mental journey into nature can bring back some of the same emotions as when they walked into nature.
“The other thing we recommend for healthcare workers, getting off the bus early if they’re going by public transport. If they have a few minutes of a walk in nature to put a boundary between work and their recovery and sleep time.
“One of the things now is that many healthcare workers have moved closer to their place of work. Turns out there is an optimum boundary between work and your personal life – about a 30 minute commute. So if it’s only two minutes away they could take a walk, take the long way home. Time to process information.
“There are high fidelity measures that healthcare staff need right now, but these are low fidelity things we can do too.
“Nature contact is low cost, low risk and it’s usually easy to find.”
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A little added nature in your exercise goes a long way
GRASS GROWS THROUGH the cobbles and a fox was spotted padding between Brown Thomas and Marks and Spencer, two small snippets from Dublin’s Grafton Street provided us all with a small chance to stop and enjoy a moment of wonder this past week.
The stay at home messaging to curb the spread of Covid-19 has decimated footfall on the capital’s primary shopping street, showing that even the most paved and scrubbed areas in the country can make room for flashes of nature.
Sport Ireland and Mental Health Ireland recently unveiled the Nature Moves campaign, highlighting benefits of even the most simple of interactions with outdoor green spaces while the acronym (notice, active, time, understand, revisit and energise) encourages mindfulness of flora and fauna when taking exercise in the open air.
On its surface, the message can seem fairly self-evident. Yet even people who intrinsically know the outdoors makes them feel good, a nudge back there does no harm. And although the cynics among us will find cause to brush off sage advice as anything from the blatantly obvious to tree-hugging cod science, there is a formidable body of evidence behind it.
“Nature automatically engages us in a different mindset, outside the structure of normal life or a profession. It helps us ease stress,” says Dr Tadhg MacIntyre, course director of sport and performance psychology at the University of Limerick.
MacIntyre also heads up the GoGreen initiative – focused on the hard science behind our relationship with nature and so when he cites such benefits they are not mere claims, but findings from an exhaustive body of research contained in a book edited by himself and Dr Aoife Donnelly last year, Physical Activity in Natural Settings.
“It does provide us with a sanctuary for recovery. In many ways, it provides us with a challenge. You don’t go for a walk in your slippers. You have to dress for it, you have to be prepared for it. You can be rained on, you could trip. All of that is ‘a challenge’ in nature and that makes it such a wonderful environment.”
Comprising findings from across decades and a variety of authors, the book details both the firm nuts and bolts of measuring real and relative cognitive responses in the brain when exposed to natural surroundings and also the tougher-to-grasp work examining different views on the meaning of life. Nature features heavily in such responses with many cited works saying ‘that meaning involves something that goes beyond a single individual’s concerns, transcending the individual’s life.’
“Here we’ve got good and recent Irish evidence,” says CEO of Mental Health Ireland, Martin Rogan, “that, not only does it sound intuitively like a good idea, you can study it and see the difference when people get exercise out in daylight – which is essentially our natural habitat.
“Four and a half million years of evolution says that’s where we’re supposed to be. We’re designed to be active. So not being active works against our natural design.”
That much was evident when the country began to shut down to slow the spread of Covid-19 during the ‘delay phase’ last month and people flocked to places like Glendalough and other areas of nature across the island.
However, reaping benefits from an interaction with nature doesn’t necessarily require a trek into wilderness. Most people in Ireland would have been able to find enough greenery in the two-kilometre radius allowed for exercise. With five kilometres to explore, we’ll surely find at least a patch of grass in the cobbles or a tree branch to notice, understand and revisit.
“What’s relevant now is what people have on their doorstep,” says Dr. Una May, director of participation in Sport Ireland.
“What’s interesting is the awareness that has been raised for some about what is available near their home. I think we’re not always aware the extent of what’s in reach from our houses. There’s a tendency to get in the car and go to a favourite place and overlook something closer to home.”
That tendency has been rattled these past six weeks with the sports governing body unveiling survey figures showing an 8% reduction in the number of inactive adults and extra walkers and runners numbering close to half a million apiece.
“Often there are some very elaborate solutions,” says Rogan, taking Nature Moves purely from a mental wellbeing standpoint for a moment, “it’s designed to sound simple, but it has a strong science base behind it.
“We (in Mental Health Ireland) have a model called five ways to wellbeing – a bit like the five-a-day with fruit and veg - connecting, be active, keep learning, take notice and give.
“Like most coping strategies, most of us have a preferred channel. Some are really good at getting active, others at the education side. Each of us has our own mentality. Like a balanced diet, we’d encourage people to try a mixed diet of coping strategies: this one combines getting outdoors, taking notice of nature, exercise and actually learning something new.”
MacIntyre has worked a great deal with athletes in all codes on this island and the recommendations go equally for them: get outside to train, if you can set up a workout routine outdoors, all the better, it can have greater mental benefit than the same circuit indoors.
Right now, though, the high-performance group we’re all relying on to manage and ease the pandemic are the medics on the frontline. They are the people operating in high-pressure situations with minimal time off and under the constant threat of infection.
Crucially, even a brief interaction with nature can bring about a positive impact not just on mental health, but for cognitive performance through improved concentration.
“If you’re a healthcare worker, say, it can be really hard to get green exercise or physical activity in a natural setting,” says Dr MacIntyre.
“Instead what we’re suggesting as an exploration is ‘digital nature,’ put your favourite piece of nature on your phone. It could be 30 seconds of birdsong, scenes from your holidays, a tree near your home; looking at that for between 30 seconds and two minutes gives you a micro-break and those micro-breaks help.
“Not so much with your mood, but with your concentration. Your attention is enhanced by a micro-break with natural stimuli. That’s amazing, because they’re going back and have to know procedures and follow them, particularly now, everything is very structured. So their attention is hugely important.
“The mental journey into nature can bring back some of the same emotions as when they walked into nature.
“The other thing we recommend for healthcare workers, getting off the bus early if they’re going by public transport. If they have a few minutes of a walk in nature to put a boundary between work and their recovery and sleep time.
“One of the things now is that many healthcare workers have moved closer to their place of work. Turns out there is an optimum boundary between work and your personal life – about a 30 minute commute. So if it’s only two minutes away they could take a walk, take the long way home. Time to process information.
“There are high fidelity measures that healthcare staff need right now, but these are low fidelity things we can do too.
“Nature contact is low cost, low risk and it’s usually easy to find.”
Even in unexpected places.
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Go Green nature moves SPORT IRELAND