2019

Survey Results: a Walk in a Forest Reduces Stress

The results of a survey conducted by JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) in the summer of 2019 show that walking in the woods is the best way to reduce stress on a daily basis. Although the survey data show that people are more likely to find peace in the wild, more than a half of those surveyed admit that they leave their mobile devices switched on also at that time.

Daily walks in forest help reduce stress for one fifth or 20% of the respondents, yet the majority of these respondents were people aged 60-74. For younger people, walking in the woods was only the fourth most popular stress reliever, ranking TV and film watching, sporting activities, and talking to peers in the first three places.

“The positive thing is that for the majority of the population, the forest serves as a place to take a break from the daily rush. But seeing the predominance of digital solutions among younger people, we understand the need to reach out to young people more intensively to tell them about forest and the numerous opportunities that it offers,” says Tomass Kotovičs, Head of LVM Communications Unit. “That is why the “Let's Go in the Forest” movement launched this autumn reminds us that forests in Latvia are accessible to anyone and anywhere, since they cover more than a half of our country's territory, and we should take advantage of it. Numerous studies, as well as stories told by doctors and people known to the public, prove that spending time in the forest is far more valuable to health than other activities, especially the passive ones,” says Tomass Kotovičs.

The survey results also highlight regional differences in recreation in nature as a choice after a busy working week. Overall, one-fifth (21%) of those surveyed choose this type of recreation most often in weekends, and such recreation is most popular among residents of Riga and big cities (47%). On the other hand, residents of Kurzeme are the most reluctant towards recreation in the forest - only 14% of them choose to go to the forest after a busy working week, while the rest of them prefer to watch TV instead. Most often residents of Vidzeme (38%) are those who go to the forest for relaxation and rest whenever they have the opportunity. In turn, 46% of those living in Pierīga told that they had been in the forest last week.

As part of its 20th anniversary, LVM has launched the “Let's Go in the Forest” movement to encourage residents of Latvia to take advantage of the wide availability of forests and encourage them to spend their free time healthily and actively outdoors taking care of their mental and physical health. If you have captured the beauty of nature in a photo, share it on social networks by adding a hash tag #ejammežā so that a relaxing moment in the woods, picking mushrooms, berries or just enjoying a peaceful walk would inspire others to enjoy the opportunity to relax in a clean forest.

Since its foundation in 1999, LVM implementing sustainable forest management has paid 1.05 billion euros to state and local government budgets. The economic activity is carried out by maintaining and restoring forests, ensuring environmental protection, recreation and growth of wood. During these twenty years, young stands in an area of 536 thousand hectares have been tended and 227 thousand hectares of forest land have been restored in the forests managed by LVM. LVM invests in the development of forests, including the construction of motor ways and bridges and renovation of drainage systems. The volume of timber in the forests managed by LVM increases by 12 million cubic metres annually.

* The sociological survey was conducted in June 2019 in collaboration with the research agency Norstat; within the framework of the survey, 1 005 Latvian residents aged 18-74 were surveyed on the Internet.