That parks and nature are good for our wellbeing is pretty well known, even if such excursions are not explicitly prescribed by the medical profession. A recent study from the University of Vermont highlighted the boost to our mood being in a park can bring.
The researchers examined the tweets made by people as they frolicked in urban parks, and found that people tended to use happier and less negative words than they did immediately prior to their visit. What’s more, this boost to their mood tends to endure for around four hours afterwards.
Indeed, so pronounced is the boost to our mood that the researchers liken it to the boost we experience on Christmas day, which is traditionally the happiest day (at least in Twitter land).
“We found that, yes, across all the tweets, people are happier in parks,” the researchers explain, “but the effect was stronger in large regional parks with extensive tree cover and vegetation.”
So it seems that for a real mood boost to be seen, we have to be in large parks with plenty of vegetation, perhaps because these parks afford us the myth that we are truly in nature rather than in a green pocket of the urban jungle.
Put our phones down
Of course, what we do when we’re actually in the park may also play a role in the mental boost we receive. A second study explored how using our smartphones (to tweet perhaps?) actually reduces the refresh our brains receive from a break.
The research asked volunteers to complete a number of word puzzles, with some then given the opportunity to take a break half way through by using their smartphones (while others were given alternative means of taking a break).
Lo and behold, the volunteers who used their phones during their break suffered from the highest levels of mental depletion, and were the least capable of completing the word puzzles after their break. Indeed, their competence after the break was comparable to those who had no break at all.
This corresponded to taking 19% longer to complete the task, with 22% fewer problems solved than their peers who took a break without their phone.
“The act of reaching for your phone between tasks, or mid-task, is becoming more commonplace. It is important to know the costs associated with reaching for this device during every spare minute. We assume it’s no different from any other break—but the phone may carry increasing levels of distraction that make it difficult to return focused attention to work tasks,” the authors say. “Cellphones may have this effect because even just seeing your phone activates thoughts of checking messages, connecting with people, access to ever-refilling information, and more, in ways that are different than how we use other screens like computers, and laptops.”
So if you really want to get the most from your park experience, perhaps the best approach is to put your phone away and not tweet about how great your park experience is.
