Good For Physical And Mental Health, Street Indoor Or Outdoor, Which Is Better?

Illustration of walking (Photo: Freepik/katemangostar)

JAKARTA - Walking is not only good for physical health, but can also reduce stress that helps live longer. If you want to get both of them, start diligently doing this simple thing regularly.

On foot, it can be done in an outdoor or indoor space. However, which one is better? Walking indoor or outdoor?

Reporting from the Times of India page, Wednesday, February 26, 2025, a study published in the journal Ecopsychology compares the effects of walking outside and indoors. Researchers want to know if outside exercise can increase more significant physical activity and its impact on emotions.

In this study, the heart rate of participants was measured to assess the level of physical effort carried out. The results show that the surrounding environment has an overall health effect.

This study involved 74 students who were divided into two groups. The first group walked outside the room as far as 0.6 km on the flat lane. While the second group walked over the treadmill while watching the same video route. The two groups walked for 15 minutes at a speed they set themselves.

The results show participants walking outdoors have increased their heart rate higher than those walking indoors. This indicates that outdoor walking requires greater physical effort.

However, there is a striking difference in terms of energy levels. Outdoor clusters feel a much higher energy increase than treadmill groups, which are not experiencing any energy changes at all.

In contrast, those walking indoors experienced a drop in tensions, while the outdoor group did not experience any significant changes in this regard.

In other aspects such as calm, fatigue, positive or negative mood, no significant difference was found between the two groups.