How outdoor activity can impact your mood

As autumn draws near you may want to keep the below in mind next time you have to get in a session of cardio – especially if you don’t like doing it!

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis on 10 studies performed at the University of Essex, which, in some degree, looked at the influence that outdoor activity can have on someone’s mood. What they found after analyzing the studies was that short-duration activity in green environments had a greater effect on one’s mood than long duration. Although, long-duration cardio still provided a positive effect. What’s also interesting is that they found light and intense physical exercise improves mood too. Finally, while they found all green environments had a positive effect on mood, it was better when subjects were around a body of water.

That being said, if the thought of doing any type of cardiovascular exercise puts you in a bad mood then you might want to try doing it outside, near water while the weather is still nice.