5 ways nature keeps you healthy, according to research

Poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson believed nature was good for the soul: “The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.” But spending time outdoors is also good for the body and mind, in a number of different ways. From your disease risk to your mental well-being, here’s how visiting parks and other green spaces can influence your health.

Some research suggests that access to parks is associated with a lower obesity rate. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health found as much, linking green space to decreased obesity in communities. And in a 2020 review and meta-analysis of studies in the journal Obesity, more than half of the research examined found a link between more green space and less obesity.

Park access is also correlated with lower rates of type 2 diabetes. In a 2021 review published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, scientists found that exposure to neighborhood green spaces was linked to a decreased risk of the condition.

Scientists have also been studying just how much green space is needed in a neighborhood to make a real difference. One study, also from 2021 and published in the same journal, found that the risk for diabetes dropped significantly when green space made up 30 to 40 percent of a person’s nearby area—within 1.2 miles from home.

Communities with more parks may have lower rates of heart attacks and high blood pressure, as well. A 2022 review of studies published in the journal Environmental Pollution looked at data gathered from 18 countries and over 100 million people. The researchers found that just a small 0.1 percent increase in green space was associated with 2 to 3 percent lower odds of having a stroke. Not only that, they found that the odds of dying from a stroke or heart disease was also lower by 2 to 3 percent.

Even short-term exposure to nature may improve your focus, suggests one 2022 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Researchers found that after just one lesson taught in a garden rather than a classroom, second- and third-grade children were more focused and performed better in math calculations. 

You may not even need access to actual nature to get the benefits. Something as simple as changing your desktop background image might make a difference. Authors of another 2022 study in the same journal gave participants cognitive tasks that wore out their working memory, a type of attention that you use to manage your short-term memory. When these worn-out participants then looked at digital images of nature scenery, they performed better on tests than if they were shown pictures of urban scenes. 

Nature can boost your mood, too. In a 2020 review published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers found that being exposed to a forest was associated with positive mental well-being. The data they reviewed also suggested that being in a forest can actually lower stress levels.

And while more research on children and teenagers is needed, engaging with nature may also benefit kids’ mental health, according to a 2018 review published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. It’s just another good reason to take the whole family for a walk in the woods.