A study published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances suggests that if you have long-term exposure to more greenery where you live, on average you may be adding 2.5 years to your life.
To explore the association between long-term exposure to greenery and aging, the researchers compared age-related biological changes in the study’s participants over a 20-year period against data on green spaces near where those people live.
While that helped identify the location and quantity of plant life, the approach does not provide details about the type — for example, whether the area is a golf course or a forested nature trail — or quality of green space.
Knowing more details about the green spaces studied and what people might be doing in them is critical, said Karen Seto, director of the Hixon Center for Urban Ecology at the Yale School of the Environment.
In the meantime, the research should encourage people to think more about their surroundings when making healthy living decisions, in addition to diet, sleep and exercise, Hou said.
“We need to start changing our perspective on green space and really viewing it as an essential piece of infrastructure, just the same as sewer systems and garbage collection,” he said.
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A study published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances suggests that if you have long-term exposure to more greenery where you live, on average you may be adding 2.5 years to your life.
To explore the association between long-term exposure to greenery and aging, the researchers compared age-related biological changes in the study’s participants over a 20-year period against data on green spaces near where those people live.
While that helped identify the location and quantity of plant life, the approach does not provide details about the type — for example, whether the area is a golf course or a forested nature trail — or quality of green space.
Knowing more details about the green spaces studied and what people might be doing in them is critical, said Karen Seto, director of the Hixon Center for Urban Ecology at the Yale School of the Environment.
In the meantime, the research should encourage people to think more about their surroundings when making healthy living decisions, in addition to diet, sleep and exercise, Hou said.
“We need to start changing our perspective on green space and really viewing it as an essential piece of infrastructure, just the same as sewer systems and garbage collection,” he said.
The original article contains 797 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 74%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!