If you’ve ever swapped the treadmill for a bush track and felt your blood pressure drop before your heart rate even kicks up, science just gave you the nod. A recent study in Psychology of Sport and Exercise confirms what every bloke with a pair of hiking boots already knows: nature is one hell of a stress reliever. If workout in nature, you’ll feel better.
The Study
Researchers recruited 25 men and asked them to walk for an hour at a decent clip—around 6.4 km/h—in three different places: a forest or beach, a standard city route, and an indoor gym. Before and after each session, they measured heart rate, heart-rate variability (HRV), and cortisol, the stress hormone that spikes when life’s grinding your gears.
The nature walks smashed it. Participants reported feeling more relaxed, more upbeat, and less knackered than after city or indoor sessions. Their HRV—a key indicator of how well the body bounces back from stress—jumped by up to 30 percent, meaning their nervous systems were shifting from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest. Cortisol, meanwhile, tanked faster outdoors than anywhere else.
Why Nature Works
The researchers point to biophilia, the theory that humans are hard-wired to seek connection with natural environments. Trees, water, sunlight, and space do something fluorescent lights and treadmill screens can’t—they calm the sympathetic nervous system and boost vagal tone, which steadies heart rate and eases tension.
Sports medicine specialist Dr Bert Mandelbaum says the combination of endorphins from exercise and the soothing power of nature creates a chemical cocktail that lifts mood and lowers stress. “You’re getting the best of both worlds,” he says, “the physiological hit of a workout plus the psychological reset of being outdoors.”
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t the first time scientists have found that outdoor exercise trumps indoor training for mental wellbeing. Meta-analyses show that men who train outdoors report lower levels of anxiety and depression than those who stick to the gym. The fresh air, open space, and natural light help regulate circadian rhythms and promote deeper sleep—all of which feed into resilience and recovery.
And there’s a knock-on benefit: consistency. People enjoy outdoor exercise more and are likelier to repeat it. It’s hard to dread your next workout when it’s a sunrise run along the beach or a hike with a mate, not another hour next to a bloke grunting through bicep curls.
The Takeaway
Sure, it’s a small study, but the force is strong in this one, Luke. When you can, workout in nature. Walk, jog, ride, swim, hit a few bodyweight moves at the park—anything that gets you into sunlight and out of the echo chamber. You’ll recover quicker, think clearer, and probably enjoy the whole thing more.
If you’re glued to the gym, don’t overthink it. Any movement’s better than none. But if you’re chasing that next level of calm, swap the treadmill’s hum for a dirt track, the sun on your face and let nature do what it’s been doing for a few million years—resetting men who know when to step outside.
Main image: Krivec Ales:
Photo by Matt Hardy:
