The empowering variability of affordances of nature: why do exercisers feel better after performing the same exercise in natural environments than in indoor environments? Psychology of Sport and Exercise.

Prior reviews point to the superior benefits of exercising in nature vs in conventional indoor venues, particularly in terms of well-being. However, physical exercise performance, neither in terms of efficacy nor efficiency, has not been sufficiently addressed by past reviews of this topic. Therefore, we conducted both a systematic review and meta-analysis of the experimental literature that relates to differences in exercise performance and well-being between exercising in nature and in conventional indoor venues. Forty-nine relevant studiesthe outcome data of which were used for the systematic reviewwere located within the Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases. The meta-analyses, using data from twenty-four of the relevant studies, revealed no significant overall environmental effect on task performance efficacy outcomes (p = 0.100). For nature-based exercise, however, marginally positive cognitive performance outcomes (p = 0.059), lower ratings of perceived exhaustion (p = 0.001), and higher levels of vigor (p = 0.017) were observed, indicating higher performance efficiency. As for the effects of environment on well-being, positive affect was significantly higher for nature-based exercise (p = 0.000), while perceived stress was significantly higher for indoor exercise (p = 0.032). These results must, however, be interpreted with caution. High levels of bias and between-study heterogeneity were observed. Nonetheless, given several noticeable trends in the results, it may be that exercising in nature enhances the efficiency of exercise task performance to a greater extent than does indoor exercise.

La Feeling Scale y la Felt Arousal Scale son escalas ampliamente utilizadas en la investigación del deporte. En este estudio, las escalas originales fueron traducidas del inglés al portugués. Posteriormente, se comprobó si las puntuaciones de afecto y activación en el Self-Assessment Manikin, una escala basada en imágenes, predecían las puntuaciones en la Feeling Scale y en la Felt Arousal Scale en 47 deportistas recreativos portugueses, antes y después de una sesión de ejercicio. El Self-Assessment Manikin mostró correlaciones de moderadas a fuertes con la Feeling Scale (r = 0.70 y r = 0.56, p < 0.01) y la Felt Arousal Scale (r = 0.65 y r = 0.72, p < 0.01), y un poder predictivo sustancial sobre la Feeling Scale (R2 = 47% y R2 = 31%) y la Felt Arousal Scale (R2 = 42% y R2 = 52%). En base a este estudio, la Feeling Scale y la Felt Arousal Scale demostraron ser instrumentos válidos para medir el afecto y la excitación en los ejercitantes recreativos portugueses. Feeling Scale and Felt Arousal Scale are widely used in sport research. They provide a practical assessment of self-reported affect and arousal during exercise. The original scales were translated from English to Portuguese. Afterward, it was tested if the affect and arousal scores in the picture-based Self-Assessment Manikin predicted the scores in the Feeling Scale and the Felt Arousal Scale in 47 Portuguese recreational exercisers, before and after an exercise session. Self-Assessment Manikin showed moderate-to-strong correlations with the Feeling Scale (r = 0.70 and r = 0.56, p < 0.01) and the Felt Arousal Scale (r = 0.65 and r = 0.72, p < 0.01), and substantial predictive power over the Feeling Scale (R2 = 47% and R2 = 31%) and the Felt Arousal Scale (R2 = 42% and R2 = 52%). The Feeling Scale and Felt Arousal Scale are valid instruments to measure affect and arousal in Portuguese exercisers. A Feeling Scale e a Felt Arousal Scale são amplamente utilizadas na investigação em desporto. Fornecem uma avaliação prática dos estados psicológicos de afeto e da ativação durante o exercício. Neste estudo, as escalas originais foram traduzidas do inglês para português. Posteriormente, testou-se se a pontuação do afeto e da ativação na Self-Assessment Manikin, uma escala baseada em imagens, previa a pontuação na Feeling Scale e na Felt Arousal Scale em 47 desportistas recreativos portugueses, antes e depois de uma sessão de exercício. A Self-Assessment Manikin mostrou correlações moderadas a fortes com a Feeling Scale (r = 0.70 e r = 0.56, p < 0.01) e com a Felt Arousal Scale (r = 0.65 e r = 0.72, p < 0,01), e um poder preditivo substancial sobre a Feeling Scale (R2 = 47% e R2 = 31%) e a Felt Arousal Scale (R2 = 42% e R2 = 52%). A Feeling Scale e a Felt Arousal Scale são instrumentos válidos para medir o afeto e a ativação em desportistas recreativos portugueses.

The latest World Health Organization report on green and blue space and mental health (2021) calls for greater, and better, urban nature environments, i. e., “wilder” urban parks, tree-laden sidewalks, and overall presence of nature in the urban environment. Evidence shows that living close to and interacting with nature promotes benefits to numerous health and well-being indicators. The present article narratively reviews what are the aspects of urban nature environments that enhance health and wellbeing markers, which aspects are preferred among users and visitors of urban nature environments, and how can the benefits for health and wellbeing be understood from a theoretical perspective. Finally, guided by the ecological dynamics framework, suggestions are put forward on how designers and planners of urban nature environments can consider affordances to promote physical activity behavior, health and wellbeing; and how exercise and health researchers and professionals may channel the interaction of individuals with the nature environment in their interventions and programs.

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