Short reportIs physical activity in natural environments better for mental health than physical activity in other environments?
Highlights
► Experimental studies show physical activity in natural environments may be better for mental health than activity elsewhere. ► Such studies tend to be small, brief and not to test effects of activity in natural environments as part of everyday life. ► This study looked for evidence of such effects in a large, real-world population. ► It found evidence that physical activity in natural environments is better for mental health than activity elsewhere. ► Each additional use of a natural environment per week is associated with about a 6% lower risk of poor mental health.
Section snippets
Background
There is now considerable research and policy attention on the potential for contact with natural environments to protect or enhance human mental health (Nilsson, Sangster, & Konijnendijk, 2011). Experimental studies have demonstrated effects of contact with natural environments on both biomarkers and self-reports of stress, on mood and reported levels of fatigue (Bowler, Buyung-Ali, Knight, & Pullin, 2010; Hartig et al., 2011; Hartig, Evans, Jamner, Davis, & Garling, 2003; Park, Tsunetsugu,
Methods
The research question could not be answered by simply seeking a relationship between reported use of natural environments for physical activity, and mental health or wellbeing. Those who use natural environments might also use other types of environment. Use of all environments needed to be taken into account to assess any independent benefit of physical activity in natural environments.
Data came from the 2008 Scottish Health Survey (SHS), a large cross-sectional population health survey which
Results
The mean WEMWBS score was 50.15 with a standard deviation of 8.59, and 14.25% of the sample had high GHQ. The mean number of environments used for physical activity in the month before interview was 2.7. About 30% of the subsample used 3 or more. Local pavements or streets was the environment most commonly used regularly for physical activity, followed by home/garden (Fig. 1). About 50% of the subsample reported using any natural environment for physical activity at least once during the four
Discussion
The analyses showed an independent association between regular use of natural environments for physical activity and a lower risk of poor mental health. Regular users of Woods/forest for physical activity were at about half the risk of poor mental health of non-users. Each additional use of any natural environment per week was associated with about a 6% lower risk of poor mental health. Regular use of non-natural, and in particular sporting, environments was positively and significantly
Acknowledgements
This work is part of the GreenHealth project funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) Division. I gratefully acknowledge the Public Health team, Analytical Services at the Scottish Government for adding the green space variable to the SHS data.
References (24)
- et al.
Does the outdoor environment matter for psychological restoration gained through running?
Psychology of Sport and Exercise
(2003) - et al.
Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings
Journal of Environmental Psychology
(2003) - et al.
Restorative qualities of indoor and outdoor exercise settings as predictors of exercise frequency
Health & Place
(2009) The restorative benefits of nature: toward an integrative framework
Journal of Environmental Psychology
(1995)- et al.
Gender differences in relationships between urban green space and health in the United Kingdom
Social Science & Medicine
(2010) - et al.
More green space is linked to less stress in deprived communities: evidence from salivary cortisol patterns
Landscape and Urban Planning
(2012) - et al.
Preference for nature in urbanized societies: stress, restoration, and the pursuit of sustainability
Journal of Social Issues
(2007) - et al.
A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments
BMC Public Health
(2010) - et al.
Understanding and researching wellbeing: its usage in different disciplines and potential for health research and health promotion
Health Education Journal
(2005) - et al.
A user's guide to the General Health Questionnaire
(1991)