Walks4Work: Assessing the role of the natural environment in a workplace physical activity intervention

Abstract

This paper is the first to investigate the importance of natural environments in a workplace physical activity intervention. It provides evidence that a short walk in a natural environment twice a week can lower blood pressure and improve perceived mental health when compared to a built environment. Data suggests natural environments could be used to improve adherence to an intervention. Affiliation: Daniel Brown,

Recovery during Lunch Breaks: Testing Long-Term Relations with Energy Levels at Work

“…Other studies have been specifically interested in natural environments. According to an intervention study by Brown et al (2014), spending one's lunchtime walking in a natural environment was beneficial in terms of improved mental health when compared to walking in built environments. Accordingly, this study suggests that break location may be significant in terms of recovery.…”

“…Furthermore, our outside condition was quite general, and did not take specific recovery enhancing environmental factors (e.g., natural settings) into account. Given that natural settings are more likely to afford restorative experiences than are built environments, comparing them would be a good option for future studies (Brown et al, 2014).…”

“…For example, organizations may encourage regular lunch breaks and provide restorative environments (e.g., quiet rooms for relaxation). The question of how to recover successfully during lunch breaks has recently gained some research attention (Brown, Barton, Pretty, & Gladwell, 2014;Krajewski, Wieland, & Sauerland, 2010;Trougakos, Hideg, Cheng, & Beal, 2014). Nevertheless, research on internal recovery is still scarce (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2015).…”

Urban Mobility and Influence Factors: A Case Study of Prague

“…The rate of CVD mortality is slightly decreasing in Czech population, but CVD occurrence is still significantly higher than in Western Europe [5]. Lack of physical activity is obvious even in the childhood -the percentage of overweight children has increased since the 90s, and so did the BMI of the parents [12]. Percentage of overweight and obese fathers is continuously increasing from 50s.…”

“…Psychological and health influence of the relationship between the environment and the pedestrian movement has already been examined by previous studies [12], [13]. This paper focuses on narrower segment of the city -the transport infrastructure and its influence on pedestrian activity in the city.…”