Nature

were both related to increased drinking. However, problematic drinking, which can lead to injury, forgetfulness or other harmful consequences, was only associated with negative mood. Lastly, nature was found to be related to improved mood. She concluded that intentionally spending time in nature may reduce problematic alcohol use by first reducing negative affect.

Almog saw that participants often reported feeling that they took nature for granted. This emphasized the research team’s belief that access to greenspaces and education efforts on the benefits of deliberate interaction with nature could be essential to turning around the negative experiences and consequences for people who drink.

The study provided the statistical evidence. Next is to apply it. Almog, along with Meredith Berry, Ph.D., assistant professor in HEB, and several other researchers in the department, are engaging a new wave of participants with online visuals of nature versus the built environment. People who regularly use substances are being shown images of the two settings for several minutes as the researchers ask them questions to gauge their decision-making processes specifically related to their substance use habits.

Almog hopes to move the experiment to the outdoors where participants can experience all the senses that contribute to the impact she believes nature holds on people. But even beyond its effects on substance use and related behaviors, Almog encourages everyone to be more mindful of the living world around them.

“Nature can directly affect your attention and mood,” she said. “It can also indirectly make you more active, social and can move you away from environmental stressors like noise or air pollution. Spend some time keeping the phone away and just notice nature. Enjoy it.”

Catching the last-minute bus to work. Carrying that hot cup of coffee around to the office. What seem like routine tasks are actually powered by the complex motor movements of the body. Walking the dog or getting around the supermarket requires mobile adaptability — the ability to adjust to changing environments and walking speeds. This ability begins to reshape or diminish with age depending on one’s health.

Literature on the differences in walking adaptability between age groups remains limited. But researchers from the Applied Neuromechanics Laboratory in the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology have stepped up through a collaborative effort from departments across UF for the paper Kinematic analysis of speed transitions within walking in younger and older adults.

Francesca Wade, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher in applied physiology and kinesiology and the primary author of the study. She joined HHP after earning her doctorate and is co-advised by Chris Hass, Ph.D., professor in applied physiology and kinesiology, and David J. Clark, associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Aging.

Wade joined HHP equipped with research knowledge in sport injury and more specifically ankle sprain injury. For her Ph.D., she studied the ankle joint structure during ankle replacement in older adults and now explores the effects of aging on mobility.

Last year, Wade contributed to ongoing research at Hass’ Applied Neuromechanics Lab by collecting biomechanical data as part of a larger project funded by the National Institute of Aging.