How Does Travel Environment Affect Mood? A Study Using Geographic Ecological Momentary Assessment in the UK

Daily travel is a large part of life, and it is widely believed that our mood can be affected by the environment in which travel takes place. In this study, we investigate how environmental factors affect mood while performing daily travel activities using an app-based geographic ecological momentary assessment study. Our study (the WorkAndHome study) involved over 1000 participants tracked using a bespoke GPS mobile phone app in three cities (Birmingham, Leeds, and Brighton and Hove, UK) At the end of trips (i.e., when a stop in the GPS data was detected) we pushed a survey to participants asking them to score their current happiness and stress levels on a 7-point Likert scale. We combined individual GPS data with environmental data on green and blue spaces and weather conditions. We found that green and blue space availability and weather variables, such as daytime, apparent temperature, and visibility, significantly affect our happiness levels at the end of trips. While these weather factors were also significant predictors of stress level, availability of green and blue space was not. The results of this study provide fine-scale evidence from direct surveys about the associations between environment and weather and our moods when performing daily travel activities.