Walking Outdoors Ideal Setting

By MICHAEL ROIZEN, MD, AND MEHMET OZ, MD

Don’t let the first chill in the air chase your workout indoors until spring comes around again. Your mind and your blood pressure would prefer you to put on a cozy pullover and walk in a nice outdoor area, or find a long corridor in your building with some great windows and views (and not just of those construction guys).

People who work out while looking at pleasant rural scenes see their blood pressure decrease while their self-esteem and mood shoot up. In one study, even pleasant urban scenes – domestic gardens or buildings surrounded by water and blue sky – gave people health and mood benefits. But unpleasant vistas, especially ugly rural ones plagued with abandoned buildings, billboards or damaged trees and the like, depressed the benefits of exercise, especially on mood.

The bottom line: Your mind and body love going outdoors, as long as you head in the right direction.

Can you just take nice pictures with you to the gym, or put up a poster in front of your basement treadmill? Not if you want to destress while you exercise. Research has found that people who looked out a window recovered better from low-level stress than people who looked at the same scene on a high-definition TV.

In fact, in another ringing endorsement of the powers of Mother Nature, the digital “window” only reduced stress as well as a blank, boring wall did. Of course, if it’s a choice between walking around the parking lot or not walking at all, choose the lot. But when you can, go green.

The YOU Docs – Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz – are authors of the best-selling “YOU: The Owner’s Manual” and “YOU: On a Diet.” To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com, the docs’online home.

(c) 2008 Telegraph – Herald (Dubuque). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.