Abstract
The aim of this study was exploratory and sought to examine the effect on blood
pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and mood state responses in primary school children of
moderate intensity cycling whilst viewing a green environment compared to exercise alone.
Following ethics approval and parental informed consent, 14 children (seven boys,
seven girls, Mean age ± SD = 10 ± 1 years) undertook two, 15 min bouts of cycling at a
moderate exercise intensity in a counterbalanced order. In one bout they cycled whilst viewing
a film of cycling in a forest setting. In the other condition participants cycled with no visual
stimulus. Pre-, immediately post-exercise and 15 min post-exercise, BP, HR and Mood state
were assessed. Analysis of variance, indicated significant condition X time interaction for SBP
(p = 0.04). Bonferroni post-hoc pairwise comparisons indicated that systolic blood pressure
(SBP) 15 min post exercise was significantly lower following green exercise compared to the
control condition (p = 0.01). There were no significant differences in diastolic blood pressure
(DBP) (all p > 0.05). HR immediately post exercise was significantly higher than
HR pre exercise irrespective of green exercise or control condition (p = 0.001). Mood scores
for fatigue were significantly higher and scores for vigor lower 15 min post exercise
irrespective of green exercise or control condition (both p = 0.0001). Gender was not
significant in any analyses (p > 0.05). Thus, the present study identifies an augmented post
exercise hypotensive effect for children following green exercise compared to exercise alone.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3678-3688 |
Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2 Apr 2014 |
Bibliographical note
This article has been released under the post-2008 Creative Commons Attribution License.Keywords
- environment
- nature
- hypotension
- cycling
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Jason Tallis
- Centre for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences - Associate Professor
Person: Teaching and Research