This honestly sounds delightful but the stress relief might just be taking a break from school and being with your peers, not the "awe" or outdoor-ness of the activity. Kids should absolutely do nature stuff but it's not a panacea and they can get huge benefits from indoor activities too. - ThreadSky

michaelhobbes.bsky.social • 243 days ago

This honestly sounds delightful but the stress relief might just be taking a break from school and being with your peers, not the "awe" or outdoor-ness of the activity. Kids should absolutely do nature stuff but it's not a panacea and they can get huge benefits from indoor activities too.

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lemondifficult.bsky.social•242 days ago

Hard agree. See also "exercise" - that it's useful for many health outcomes & seen as inherently virtuous fuels moral bandwagon where research standards are lowered. That it's hard/impossible to blind studies, eliminate confounders like the above etc doesn't doesn't mean these factors don't matter!

shawnradcliffe.bsky.social•242 days ago

While hiking in Ontario on a rugged trail, I passed a group of 10-12 yos from an outdoor school. They were sitting on the side of the trail doing their math homework.

Are they happier because they are in nature? Or because math is more fun while sitting on top of a mountain? 😂

stephanon.bsky.social•243 days ago

Might also be cause for further concern regarding normal societal health stressors, like emissions, noise pollution and light pollution. Easy to breathe easy and find peace when you leave an environment that is dominated by fume spewing vehicles.

lantro.bsky.social•243 days ago

I generally agree with you, although as a parent, there is definitely *something* about getting the kids outside, especially the under 5 crew.

Also this:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/13/1250555639/kids-eyesight-myopia-near-sighted-nearsightedness-outdoor-play

jacodemon.bsky.social•241 days ago

Strong "it's not it's having access to and resources for " vibes

andistern.bsky.social•242 days ago

It’s all fun and games until someone gets bitten by a tick

jgcrocke.bsky.social•243 days ago

Those trips aren’t free either! It’s been a few years since I was guiding and I assume it’s worse now but it used to be like $50 or so per head. Not all that useful or scaleable as an intervention although it’s fun.

wkimper.bsky.social•243 days ago

There’s also just a massive problem when it comes to like… a measurable difference is not necessarily a meaningful or sufficient difference. So many things demonstrably help, but they don’t help ENOUGH.

funnyletter.bsky.social•243 days ago

Send them to an all-inclusive resort for a week and see if the same thing happens.

Seriously, do it for science, send the underprivileged kids to the beach and feed them for a week.

sababausa.bsky.social•243 days ago

when I was 16 my dad got a job that had us relocate from Switzerland to Missouri (wouldn't recommend that to be honest) and for real one of the hardest adjustments for me was school lunch going from "an hour free period" to "25 minutes in a loud sweaty food hall"

weeshtable.bsky.social•243 days ago

My husband is in a discord channel with some Swiss people, and they'll occasionally post "Look at this cat I saw on my walk today!" and it's a cat sitting on a stone wall with the goddamn Swiss Alps in the background. My jealousy is immense.

sababausa.bsky.social•243 days ago

can't deny it could be idyllic,

and an ultra-privileged bubble

sababausa.bsky.social•243 days ago

one of my favorite things I miss is there'd be some of the best food you've ever had in the most random places

there's an amazing Portuguese restaurant hidden in a BP Station—would highly recommend it if you're in the region

https://www.google.com/maps?q=Caf%C3%A9+Restaurant+du+Creux,+Le+Creux,+1337+Vallorbe,+Switzerland&ftid=0x478db13e626d4127:0x3ff54c1a0c426427&entry=gps&lucs=,94207356,47071704,47069508,94212608,47084304,94206604&g_ep=CAISDTYuMTA0LjIuNDU1OTAYACDXggMqNiw5NDIwNzM1Niw0NzA3MTcwNCw0NzA2OTUwOCw5NDIxMjYwOCw0NzA4NDMwNCw5NDIwNjYwNEICVVM%3D&g_st=ic

marikapea.bsky.social•243 days ago

I like being in nature and it makes me feel good, but it's as much about having leisure time, being with friends (plus transpo as a non-driver in a city), and having structured activities to do away from work and chores. I get the same benefit from travel or a well-planned staycation

marikapea.bsky.social•243 days ago

Now I just feel like I'm doing Frank O'Hara

fullblownwoman.bsky.social•243 days ago

BREAKING: going on a (presumably free) excursion once in a while is fun

wildcatholler.bsky.social•243 days ago

There is a sub field of research on indoor vs outdoor exercise and its impact on cognition. One example:

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1161533/full#:~:text=This%20study%20suggests%20that%20outdoor%20exercise%20influences%20positive%20emotion%20and,brain%20regions%20related%20to%20creativity.

helenlovatt.bsky.social•243 days ago

What if it’s beauty that matters, whether indoor or outdoor?

michaelhobbes.bsky.social•243 days ago

exactly, some people need to look at sunsets others of us need to look at Manny Jacinto

bryantfrancis.me•243 days ago

He just creeps into my head a little every day

varinajr.bsky.social•243 days ago

Big pharma just wants us to stay medicated, instead of simply providing every American with ten minutes of watching the fading sunlight bounce off Manny Jacinto's perfect cheekbones in a crisp autumn sunset. Wake up, sheeple!

spiritomb.bsky.social•243 days ago

whitewater rafting is a cooperative team activity so the team cooperation aspect is also likely beneficial.

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