A Comparative Study On The Influence Of Different Green Exercises On The Self-esteem And Mood State Of College Students

Objective:This study is based on the psychological benefits of physical exercise and the natural environment,and explores whether synergy exists between the natural environment and physical exercise(1+1>2).This study aims at understand the impact of physical exercise in different green environments on the self-esteem and the state of mind of college students.At the same time,this study compares the differences in the improvement of self-esteem and the state of mind after physical exercise in different environments.Methods:This study takes the students of Nanjing Normal University as the sample.After being screened by the general mental health scale and the physical exercise rating scale,subjects,who are with no mental disorder and do small and medium physical exercise,are selected.The subjects were 40 men and 40 women who aged 18-23.They all volunteer to participate in the research.The subjects were randomly assigned to four different experimental conditions for running activities and each group contains 10 men and 10 women.Subjects are required to complete 30 minutes of low-intensity running activities,after which,they accelerate breath and sweat a little but they are still able to communicate(HR:120-160).A certain bracelet is used to monitor heart rate in different experimental environments.All subjects are required to take the test of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the POMS Simple Mentality Scale before the experiment,after one-time experiment,and after the long-term experiment(lasting for 12 weeks).Subjects only need to complete Rosenberg self-esteem Scale after one-time experiment.SPSS 22.0 statistical software and Excel 2016 are used to analyze the experimental data.Results:(1)Doing green exercise in natural environment(including forest environment,lake environment,campus environment)has a significant improvement in the state of mind.The details are as follows:In the forest environment,the levels of stress,anger,depression,and panic of the subjects are significantly lower than the pre-experiment levels;In the forest environment,the levels of stress,anger,fatigue,depression,and confusion of the subjects are reduced compared with the pre-experiment levels;In the campus environment,the stress,anger,and fatigue of the subjects decrease,and energy recovers;In the laboratory environment,while the exercise results in the release of nervousness,energy decreases.(2)After exercising in all types of environment,the self-esteem level of the subjects is significantly improved.Subjects from both green environment group and the non-green environment group have improved the level of self-esteem.Doing physical exercise in the natural environment(forest,lake,campus)is conducive to improving the state of mind.Doing Long-term exercise in green environment has significantly ilproved all six dimensions of the state of mind.It helps produce positive emotions and reduce negative emotions.In the laboratory environment,the stress,depression,and panic of the subjects are significantly eased,but anger and fatigue are not alleviated,and the energy is not increased.(3)There is no significant difference in the level of self-esteem of the subjects exercised in the forest environment,lake environment and campus environment.There is significant difference in the level of self-esteem of the subjects between those who exercise in the forest environment,lake environment,and campus environment and those who exercise in the laboratory environnent.It can be concluded that the different types of green environment have no effect on the level of self-esteem,and the green exercise environment is more helpful to improve the level of self-esteem than the non-green exercise environment.The different types of green environment have no difference in improving the state of mind.Compared with non-green environment,the forest environment has improved all six dimensions of the state of mind while the campus and the lake environment have improved in the dimensions of tension,fatigue,energy and panic.Among them,there is no significant difference between the campus environment and the non-green environment in the dimensions of depression and anger.The lake environment and the non-green environment have no statistical significance in the anger dimension.(4)Both genders produce gain psychological benefits in participating in green exercise and non-green exercise.There was no significant difference in the level of self-esteem and the state of mind between men and women after doing exercise in the same environment.Conclusions:(1)Green exercise is helpful for mental health.Green exercise can alleviate negative emotions such as nervousness,anger,fatigue,depression,and confusion.(2)Both green environment exercise group and non-green environment exercise group can improve self-esteem level and mood staterDoing Physical exercise in the natural environment is conducive to improving mental health,producing positive emotions and alleviating negative emotions.(3)Green exercise can help improve the self-esteem and the state of mind of college students.Compared with non-green exercise,green exercise has better psychological benefits such as improving self-esteem and good mood.Different types of green exercise environment have no difference in achieving self-esteem and an excellent state of mind.Besides,synergistic effects exist between natural environment and physical exercise.(4)Doing Physical exercise in natural environment helps to improve physical and mental health and there is no gender difference.