Time in Nature

Time in nature — parks, woodland, green space near home — has been studied as a health exposure in its own right, separate from the exercise people do there.

What published research reports

A systematic review and meta-analysis in Environmental Research (2018), pooling data from over 140 studies and 290 million people, reported that greater greenspace exposure was associated with reduced salivary cortisol, heart rate and blood pressure, and lower odds of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality. A 2024 review of reviews reported consistent directional findings across the accumulated literature while noting that most underlying studies are observational, so cause cannot be separated cleanly from factors like income and activity levels. Study exposures range from living near green space to structured time spent in it.

References

• Twohig-Bennett C, Jones A. The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes. Environ Res. 2018;166:628–637. UEA
• Greenspace exposure and associated health outcomes: a systematic review of reviews. 2024. PubMed Central