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Could exercising outdoors give a bigger brain boost?

By Mallika Marshall, MD

April 13, 2023 / 5:56 PM EDT / CBS Boston

BOSTON - It is well known that exercise improves cognitive function as does time spent in natural outdoor environments. Now a new study published in Nature suggests combining the two could result in a bigger brain boost than either alone.

Researchers studied the brains of 30 participants before and after brief indoor and outdoor walks and found the outdoor group showed better working memory and concentration than the indoor group.

They say walking in a park or green space is better than walking on a city block. That's because the natural world has a calming effect, reducing distracting chatter in the mind and allowing the brain to reset so it can concentrate better.

Exercise
Health Care

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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