10 Mental Health Benefits of Spending Time in Nature

We all know — and we’ve certainly been reminded over the past year — that getting outside and interacting with our environments, even if it’s just for a brief walk, can restore and inspire us. (As architect Frank Lloyd Wright once put it, “Nature is my manifestation of God.”) We haven’t always been able to put our fingers on how Mother Nature works her magic on us — but thanks to researchers in a constellation of disciplines, we’re gaining ground all the time.

Journalist and author Lucy Jones explores that relationship in Losing Eden: Our Fundamental Need for the Natural World and Its Ability to Heal Body and Soul, both an intimate account of her own experiences and a science-based rallying cry to defend our most precious resources. “We might think that spending time in nature is nice, or that it's nice for some people who really love trees or bird-watching,” she says. “But in fact, the various and myriad ways nature connection affects our bodies, brains and minds are so significant and profound that actually we all need access to healthy and restorative spaces. Crucially, we recover from stress quickly and more completely in natural areas, which is so important at a time of instability in the world.” Want proof? We’ve got a forest’s worth.

“We all know, or intuit, that spending time in the natural world is in some way good for us but the gamechanger is that modern science is now proving unequivocally just how therapeutic nature is, and why,” Jones says. “My research into the nature and health evidence base convinced me that time spent in restorative natural environments isn't simply recreational or an indulgence, it's actually essential for our health and wellbeing. Now, especially during the pandemic, I make sure I walk in the woods or in nearby parks every day. It's as important as getting a good sleep or eating a healthy diet.”

In her book Jones cites a 2015 study of London neighborhoods that explored that very idea: comparing a census of street trees to regional health statistics from England’s National Health Service (NHS). Researchers found that residents in areas with trees and greenery had fewer antidepressant prescriptions. That doesn’t mean you can “plant a tree and ditch your pills,” as Jones puts it in Losing Eden, but a growing body of new research is finding similar associations.

While nature can’t replace most medications, it’s becoming a popular supplement, if you will, to other forms of health care. Jones writes of a groundbreaking program in the Shetland Islands, where, in 2018, clinicians pioneered prescriptions for birdwatching, rambling and beach walks to help address everything from mental illness and stress to diabetes and heart disease. Practitioners around the world have followed in their footsteps, and national nonprofit organizations like Park Rx America support initiatives to quite literally prescribe free park passes for patients across the United States. (Take two trips to Sequoia National Park and call us in the morning.)