26 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
26 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
## Recreation
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#### Various forms of recreational activities are strongly associated with physical and mental health benefits — go for a walk outside
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* [Pressman et al. 10](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2863117/)
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* Leisure activities are an important contribution to wellbeing.
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* These positive effects include:
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* lower blood pressure
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* lower total cortisol
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* shorter waist circumference
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* lower body mass index
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* better perceptions of better physical function
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* _“Enjoyable leisure activities, taken in the aggregate, are associated with **psychosocial and physical measures** relevant for **health and well-being**.”_
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* [Cox et al. 17](https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/67/2/147/2900179) [(cited)](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170225102113.htm)
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* Nearby nature that people actually experience is beneficial to mental health
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* *"Of five neighborhood nature characteristics tested, vegetation cover and afternoon bird abundances were positively associated with a lower prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress."*
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* From cited: *"The positive association between birds, shrubs and trees and better mental health applied, even after controlling for variation in neighbourhood deprivation, household income, age and a wide range of other socio-demographic factors."*
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* This study also references several others which come to similar conclusions about the effects of various environmental factors on wellbeing.
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* [Flavin 19](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0049089X18302801?via%3Dihub) [(cited)](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190107075713.htm)
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* Americans are happier in states that spend more on public goods
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* *"Robust evidence [suggests] that citizens report living happier lives when their state spends more (relative to the size of a state's economy) on providing public goods"*
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* This includes libraries, parks and recreation, natural resources, highways (only regular, not toll), and police protection
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* [Sahakian et al. 20](https://www.journalpublicspace.org/index.php/jps/article/view/1286) [(cited)](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200527105025.htm)
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* Study of an international team of researchers in several Asian cities
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* Parks play are essential in the wellbeing of individuals and cannot be replaced by other venues of social interaction, such as malls or shopping centers
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