Duh! story of the day

Just five minutes of exercise in a "green space" such as a park can boost mental health, researchers claim.

This is a charming story on the BBC website that really is a 'you don't say!?' story and apparently "There is growing evidence that combining activities such as walking or cycling with nature boosts well-being." Who'd have thunk it?

"In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem. The study in the Environmental Science and Technology journal suggested the strongest impact was on young people.

The research looked at many different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail.

The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes.

With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were clearly apparent but were of a smaller magnitude, the study found.

Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes - physical and mental - were particularly strong in the young and the mentally-ill.

A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water - such as a lake or river."

I'm not sure what is more worrying - the fact that Mind, the excellent mental health charity, thought that it was necessary to conduct a study of the bleeding obvious (is water wet and fire hot?), or the fact that the Environmental Science and Technology journal found it necessary to point it out to the world. It is a sad, sad day when people are unaware that getting out into nature makes you feel better.

On the flip side - hooray for publicising the outdoors to glum people. I know that even a short burst of mother nature always heals me.