A new study has found that spending time out and turning off our devices is associated with higher levels of happiness during a period of COVID-19 limitations.
Previous academic studies have shown how being outdoors, especially in green spaces, can improve mental health by promoting a more optimistic body image, and reducing levels of depression and anxiety.
Co-led by scholars from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in the UK, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Austria, and Perdana University in Malaysia, this new research examined how external standards have influenced outdoors, the daily screen time (TV, computer and smartphone use) and feelings of loneliness.
Using an experiential sampling (ESM) method, the researchers measured levels of happiness among a group of 286 adults three times a day, at random times, over a 21-day period. This allowed the participants to provide data in real time instead of looking back, helping to avoid memory biases.
The research, published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, was done in April 2020, when Austrian participants were allowed to leave their homes only for certain activities, which included exercise.
He found that levels of happiness were higher when participants were outdoors than indoors. In addition, lower daily screen time and higher levels of loneliness were associated with lower levels of happiness. The impact of loneliness on happiness was also weaker when participants were out.
Co-author Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “While locksmiths may help slow the spread of COVID-19, research has also shown that times long lock down stresses mental health.
“Our results are important in this context because they show that spending time outdoors under locking conditions has a beneficial potential on psychological well-being. Being outdoors provides opportunities escape the pressures of being restrained at home, maintain social relationships with others., and engage in physical activity – all of which can improve mental health.
“Our decisions have health policy implications. With the need for more lock-in blocking now in the UK, public health messages encouraging some fresh air instead of being indoors and looking at our screens could help lift people’s spirits. this winter. ”
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