Outdoor activities and their role in optimizing health and performance

About this Research Topic

Background

The link between nature and exercise, encompassing areas such as sports science, public health, psychology, environmental studies and leisure and tourism, is gaining increasing attention. Current research highlights that exercising in natural settings, termed "green exercise" and "blue exercise" for water-related activities, provides distinct benefits over urban exercise environments. These include not only physical gains but also psychological, social and well-being impacts.

Despite these promising findings, several dimensions of how green and blue spaces influence human performance, health, and quality of life remain underexplored, particularly regarding their role in leisure, recreation, and tourism contexts.

This Research Topic aims to delve into the complex relationships between physical activity, outdoor environments, and human well-being, with the objective of enhancing health and performance. It seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms through which nature boosts exercise benefits, the contribution of green spaces to physical activity, and how these insights can inform public health policies and urban planning strategies.

To gather further insights within these interdisciplinary fields, we welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Physiological, psychological, and social outcomes of exercising in green and blue environments.
• Comparative studies of outdoor physical activities in natural versus urban settings
• The role of biodiversity and environmental quality in enhancing exercise benefits.
• Effects of nature exposure on motivation, adherence, and uptake of physical activity.
• The rise and health impact of specific nature-based practices (e.g., wild swimming, surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, or yoga) as leisure and tourism attractions
• The mental health benefits of eco-friendly exercises, including stress reduction and cognitive improvements
• The increasing development of accessible green and blue trails that promote walking, cycling, and other recreational pursuits for diverse populations.
• Nature-based approaches for rehabilitation and physical therapy and overall well-being
• Influences of climate and seasonal changes on outdoor exercise behaviors.
• Managing conservation and recreation within protected areas.
• The impact of urban green and blue infrastructure on participation in physical and leisure activities.
• The role of access to nature in shaping health tourism experiences and community well-being.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: outdoor sport, outdoor activities, blue exercise, green exercise, exercise environments

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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