Travel Health Tips For Worldwide Well-being<<>> Overseas travel health advice varies according to who you ask and what vested interest they have. You can get lotions, potions and pills for every concievable ailment you could possibly encounter at home and abroad! Obesity is at an all time high, the threat of deep vein thrombosis and transfer of germs are inbuilt into flying around the world. We need to stay well on our travels. A recent health report has pointed out that this need not be achieved in the gym but may be best done outside with mother nature. And even short periods of exercise outdoors can make us feel healthy.
The headlines were ‘Five minutes exercising in the countryside boosts mental health’ - The Daily Telegraph. ‘Forget the gym! An open-air workout can work wonders for the mind’ - The Daily Mail.
The news reports were based on research that pooled the results of ten studies from the University of Essex on the effect of outdoor exercise in green environments on self-esteem and mood. The research has a number of limitations, including the fact that all the studies came from the same institution, and more robust results may have been achieved by systematically searching for and pooling all research addressing the same question. Also, the pooled studies did not include control groups, so it is not clear whether these improvements would have occurred naturally over time, or if gym exercise or other leisure activities would have similar results.
Travel health information such as physical activity is beneficial for your well being are widely known. It is also true that individuals should take part in forms of physical activity that they enjoy, which may include outdoor exercise while you travel.
Exercise activities included walking, cycling, fishing, boating or sailing, horse-riding, farming activities and gardening. Environments in which these activities took place included country and urban parks, countryside, farmland, forest and woodland, waterside areas and wild habitats. It was carried out by the University of Essex over the past six years. The results of these studies were pooled using standard methods , and the data analysed to find the optimal “dose” of green exercise (intensity and length) for producing the greatest improvements in mood and self-esteem. The researchers also looked at how the results were affected by the location of the exercise, and an individual’s age, gender, and whether they had existing mental problems.
The 10 studies all looked at participants’ mood and self-esteem immediately before and after green exercise. They also all used the same commonly used measurement scales to assess self-esteem and mood. The analysis of the studies indicated that green exercise was associated with statistically significant improvements in self-esteem and mood. The researchers found that these improvements were greatest with five minutes of green exercise, with smaller benefits seen for longer exposures, from ten minutes to a whole day. Light intensity activity had the greatest effect on self-esteem; light activity and vigorous activity had similar effects on mood, with less effect seen for moderate activity.
All of the green environments had a positive effect on self-esteem and mood. The greatest effect was seen in environments featuring water. Green exercise had a similar effect on self-esteem and mood for both men and women. People with self-reported mental problems showed greater improvements in self-esteem with green exercise than those without such problems. The improvements in self-esteem were greatest for people under 30, while the improvements in mood were greatest for those aged 31 to 70 years old.
The best travel health tips include if you are going to travel try to be your fittest before you travel. How you feel is important as a lot of wellness issues are in out mind. However when it comes to travel, practical steps also need to be taken.
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