Back to Green Exercise - why is walking in the woods good for you?

The psychological benefit of exercise in the outdoors, particularly in natural environments, is something that I've mentioned before (e.g. here).  I also had a piece in TGO on the subject:  Hills not Pills (the reference material for that is here) It is also something that I mention in the Hillfit book.

Alex Hutchinson has a good article on this in the Globe and Mail - Why is walking in the woods so good for you? which focusses on recent science looking at the some of the reasons for this, highlighting the role of your perception, the call on your attention that is made by your environment:

The ability to direct voluntary attention is crucial in daily life (and for cognitive tasks like remembering random digits), but it’s easily fatigued. Dr. Berman and his colleagues believe that going for a walk in the park gives voluntary attention a break, since your mind has a chance to wander aimlessly and be engaged – involuntarily but gently – by your surroundings.

“In a lot of natural areas, you’re away from loud noises and distractions,” Dr. Berman explains. “It tends to be less crowded so you don’t have to worry about bumping into people, and it also has interesting stimulation to look at, which captures your attention automatically.”

I love that.  Taking a walk offers a real mental break.