Objective: The study aimed to explore the short-term effects of “green exercise” on state anxiety and to
examine the influence of exercise type, intensity, duration, and degree of greenness.
Method: A quasi-experimental design involved eight pre-existing outdoor exercise groups (N ¼ 101) who
completed pre- and post-exercise questionnaires.
Results: Results indicated a significant reduction in participants' state anxiety following green exercise
experiences (d ¼ 0.47). However, there was a significant interaction between anxiety changes and the
type of green exercise, with effect sizes for the groups ranging between 0.14 and 1.02. The largest anxiety
reductions were reported by the Road Cycling, Boxercise, and Mountain Biking groups. Exercise intensity
and duration did not impact on state-anxiety changes, however higher degrees of perceived environmental
greenness were associated with larger reductions in anxiety.
Conclusions: Green exercise effected moderate short-term reductions in anxiety, with greater reductions
evident for some exercise groups and for participants who perceived themselves to be exercising in
more natural environments. These findings support claims for mental health benefits of green exercise
but they also highlight the need to better understand individual and group differences and the role of
perceived environmental “greenness”.