The evidence for the value of ‘Green Therapy’
The original plan for the next blog post was to look at the evidence that underpins the mental and physical health challenges faced by individuals and the impact these have on communities, businesses and society at large. Setting out the issues that confront people in their everyday lives, from substance addiction, relationship breakdowns and deprivation to being time poor or struggling to balance work and life, and the consequences by way of negative mental and physical heath seemed sensible. The evidence would help to explain, if it needed explaining, why it is so important we help more people engage in green therapy. This, however, rests on the assumption that getting outdoors is beneficial for our wellbeing. That may seem self-evident to those supporting themselves through life by regular immersion in the outdoors but is there any evidence?
We need to start by defining what we mean by immersion in nature or ‘green (or blue) therapy’. There are many ways to connect with nature, from observing wildlife, walking alone or in company, community gardening, sea, lake, river or forest bathing, green gyms, solo or group hiking in the hills to fully therapeutic interventions outdoors. Whatever the route to engaging with nature there are two facets that should be considered when thinking about the impact on the individual. Firstly the ‘exposure’ to nature, that is the time taken, the ease of access / proximity to nature and the quality of the experience, and secondly the degree of ‘connection’ achieved, or how deeply the person related psychologically to nature.
Considering the above recent research undertaken by Natural England (1) has identified evidence to suggest the following:
Links to Mental Health
1. Positive mental health (perception of wellbeing and mood) is intrinsically linked to access to green and blue spaces, with mental health interventions using natural environment delivering positive outcomes. These positive outcomes apply to adults and children but may vary over socio-demographic groups.
2. Modern life and urban environments reduce the likelihood of ‘exposure’, with areas of high deprivation having less opportunities for access and ‘worse mental health distress in response to the pandemic’.
3. Nature ‘connectedness’ is linked positively with improved wellbeing, quality of life and educational performance and associated negatively with mental distress. Connecting with green spaces also correlates with a lower potential use of medication for depression.
4. Home proximity to nature brings lower ‘tendency to psychiatric morbidity, psychological distress, depressive symptoms, clinical anxiety, depression, and mood disorders in adults’.
5. Engaging with certain environments (mountain, coasts, and woodlands) is associated with better mental health, with walks in such environments bringing improved wellbeing and mood than if taken elsewhere.
6. Nature based approaches are cost effective, with people reporting resulting good health and wellbeing alongside quantitative evidence for reduced stress, heart rates and bold pressure.
Before we look at the links for physical health, we must acknowledge that poor mental health is a major contributor to poor physical health and the leading cause of disability in the UK.
Links to Physical Health
1. More exposure to natural environments is associated with lower mortality (all causes), type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory disease and positive perinatal outcomes.
2. Positive relationships are found between access to quality natural environments and greater levels of physical activity, with activity in natural environments enjoyed by people and better for their health than if taken elsewhere.
3. Exposure to natural environments has a positive association with rates of obesity, which may vary across socio-demographic groups.
4. Natural environments promote microbial diversity that supports immune regulation.
There is a lot yet to research, for example the complex pathways joining ‘exposure’ to natural environments and positive mental and physical health outcomes may be influenced by many factors (lifestyle being one) and more evidence is needed to disentangle the precise role of immersion in natural environments. That said the mounting evidence is all pointing to the measurable positive life changing consequences of something as simple and cost effective as purposeful, mindful and regular engagement in our majestic outdoors. So why delay doing so? If you would like to explore how to experience our iconic natural destinations to allow you, your team or those your serve to indulge in some well needed self-care please get in touch or even better come along to our seminar on this very subject on the 19 May 23.
1. Links between natural environments and mental health and Links between natural environments and physical health, Natural England Evidence Information Notes EIN065 and EIN066, H Seers, R Mughal and H Chatterjee, Oct 22.