I'm not exactly "young" anymore, but when I was, the main reason I didn't like physical outdoor activities over physical indoor activities is the same as it is now:
It's hot as hell outside for three months out of the year.
I'd be interested to see them also test for physical activity indoors while surrounded by houseplants or other greenery, as well as high lux indoor lighting to simulate sunlight exposure.
There's been other studies that showed just looking at nature can improve cognitive function and mental health, including house plants. I suspect, outside of the benefits of sunlight exposure, it's less about outside vs. inside and more being in/around greenery/plants.
It could be anything. Better air, light, dynamic environments (in your home everything is where you last left it) - visual, sound, touch. It could be a higher rate of new faces seen and more social interaction. It could be grounding. There's a million variables to control for here
Patiently waiting for the skeptical comment, or the more recent formula "we should put that in a drug so people can have the benefits of outdoor exercise without leaving their room!"
To keep things simple, "activity is better for cognition". It doesn't have to be outside. Let's start with just promoting any activity...
There's already well-known studies showing that doing physical activity _before_ the school day starts, and then having the most challenging/cognition intense classes first, following the physical activity, boosts learning.
I think these type of studies would be more interesting if they controlled for lighting levels/type and air quality. What exactly is the difference between indoor and outdoor here?
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[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 30.5 ms ] threadWhy did you drop "physical" from the title?
It's hot as hell outside for three months out of the year.
There's been other studies that showed just looking at nature can improve cognitive function and mental health, including house plants. I suspect, outside of the benefits of sunlight exposure, it's less about outside vs. inside and more being in/around greenery/plants.
There's already well-known studies showing that doing physical activity _before_ the school day starts, and then having the most challenging/cognition intense classes first, following the physical activity, boosts learning.
See the book Spark[1] to learn more.
[1] https://a.co/d/2ZCabyM