While it’s been known that getting out into nature is good for your health, green spaces (think grass, trees, flowers, gardens) are especially beneficial for aging adults.
New research conducted by Boston University, along with Harvard, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, looked at residential green spaces and cognition of thousands of middle-aged women. Their findings? Exposure to green spaces is associated not only with faster thinking skills but also improved concentration skills, reports verywellhealth.com.
One of the researchers says that the findings suggest that green spaces should be looked into as an population-level approach to improving cognitive function. It could help urban planners and policy makers in planning cities with spaces to help promote healthy aging.
The study, which was published in the journal JAMA Network Open, looked at data from more than 13,000 women (average age of 61) from a period of two years (from 2014 to 2016). The data was part of the Nurses’ Health Study II, which focused on examining the risk factors for chronic diseases among U.S. women. This study analyzed certain factors: psychomotor speed, attention, learning, and working memory.
For more about the research and how green spaces may improve your ability to think, you can read the verywellhealth.com article here.
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