Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence

Summary & key facts

This paper looked at recent studies about how being in nature is linked to health. The authors read experiments and surveys from the last ten years and found that spending time around natural spaces is tied to better thinking, changes in brain activity, lower blood pressure, better mood, more physical activity, and improved sleep. Some controlled experiments show short-term protective effects on mood and thinking. But the research has limits: studies measure “nature” in different ways, the type and quality of green space probably matters, and we still do not know how much time in nature people need or when in life it helps most. The authors say stronger studies and better ways to measure nature exposure are needed.

Key facts:

• The paper is a narrative review of experimental and observational studies from the last decade that looked at how exposure to nature relates to health.
• Across studies, nature exposure was linked to better cognitive function, measurable brain activity changes, lower blood pressure, improved mental health, more physical activity, and better sleep.
• Some experimental studies—those that control conditions more carefully—found short-term protective effects of natural environments on mood and thinking skills.
• Cross-sectional observational studies (which compare people at one point in time) showed that people with more access to green space were more physically active and had a lower risk of heart disease.
• Early longitudinal studies (which follow people over time) are beginning to suggest that longer-term exposure to nature may relate to lower future risk of depression and anxiety and to healthier cognitive aging, but this evidence is still developing.
• Big limitations include inconsistent ways of measuring nature exposure, few studies that compare different types and quality of green space, and little clear evidence about how often or how long people must be exposed for benefits to appear.
• The authors recommend better study designs, improved ways to measure how much nature people actually experience, and research into the biological and developmental reasons why nature might affect health.

Abstract

There is extensive empirical literature on the association between exposure to nature and health. In this narrative review, we discuss the strength of evidence from recent (i.e., the last decade) experimental and observational studies on nature exposure and health, highlighting research on children and youth where possible. We found evidence for associations between nature exposure and improved cognitive function, brain activity, blood pressure, mental health, physical activity, and sleep. Results from experimental studies provide evidence of protective effects of exposure to natural environments on mental health outcomes and cognitive function. Cross-sectional observational studies provide evidence of positive associations between nature exposure and increased levels of physical activity and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, and longitudinal observational studies are beginning to assess long-term effects of nature exposure on depression, anxiety, cognitive function, and chronic disease. Limitations of current knowledge include inconsistent measures of exposure to nature, the impacts of the type and quality of green space, and health effects of duration and frequency of exposure. Future directions include incorporation of more rigorous study designs, investigation of the underlying mechanisms of the association between green space and health, advancement of exposure assessment, and evaluation of sensitive periods in the early life-course.

Topics

Noise Effects and Management Urban Green Space and Health Urban Heat Island Mitigation

Categories

Environmental Science Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis Physical Sciences

Tags

Anxiety Association (psychology) Clinical psychology Cognition Depression (economics) Disease Economics Environmental health Gerontology Macroeconomics Medicine Mental health Observational study Pathology Psychiatry Psychology Psychotherapist

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Anxiety or worry Lack of energy or motivation Poor sleep Sadness or low mood