Outdoors as Medicine: The Health Benefits of Nature are Numerous, Science Says

The youngest among us recognize the health benefits of nature: 80 percent of kids ages 8 to 12 believe contact with nature makes them more creative, happy, healthy, and smart.

 A weekly goal of two hours of “nature time” improves health and wellbeing

The idea that spending recreational time in natural settings is good for our health and wellbeing is hardly new. Parents have been telling their kids to “go play outside, it’s good for you” for generations.

 Ecopsychology: How Immersion in Nature Benefits Your Health

A growing body of research points to the beneficial effects that exposure to the natural world has on health, reducing stress and promoting healing. Now, policymakers, employers, and healthcare providers are increasingly considering the human need for nature in how they plan and operate.

 Just being outside can improve your psychological health, and maybe your physical health too

The more we learn about the health benefits of exposure to the outdoors, the more it seems like a good idea to spend more time in them. Researchers have found that just office might be making you sick, simply by being a closed environment. So maybe, once again, you should go outside.

 Why Going Outside Is Good For Your Health, Especially Right Now

Hundreds of studies have linked spending time outside to better health outcomes like decreases in incidences of diabetes and cardio-vascular mortality, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and better immune system function. In fact, these positive effects that are so well-documented that more and more doctors are issuing “nature prescriptions” to help treat a range of conditions from heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes, to chronic stress, depression and anxiety, insomnia and even PTSD.

 Why time outdoors is crucial to your health, even during the coronavirus pandemic

Our research has found that nature is not an amenity—it’s a necessity. We need to take it seriously.

 ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ Is Really a Thing

Children’s behavior may suffer from lack of access to outdoor space, a problem heightened by the pandemic.

The Nature Cure

Why some doctors are writing prescriptions for time outdoors.

A prescription for better health: go alfresco

Spending time outside might have some health benefits — and the 'greening' of exercise might have some more.

Doctors are prescribing the great outdoors, but that's not great for everyone

Spending time outside is a cheap way to improve your health—if you're rich.

Even tethered to our desks, biology keeps us connected to nature

How exposure to greenery helps us create, focus, heal, and unwind.

Forest Bathing: A Retreat To Nature Can Boost Immunity And Mood

When my editors asked me to report on forest bathing, I packed a swimsuit. I assumed it must involve a dip in the water. It turns out, my interpretation was too literal.

Here’s why you’re craving the outdoors so much during the coronavirus lockdown

Our lust for nature is real. The concept of biophilia, popularized by E.O. Wilson, professor emeritus of biology at Harvard University, holds that humans have an inherent love of and desire to be near and in nature.

How Much Nature Is Enough? 120 Minutes a Week, Doctors Say

Researchers have now quantified the ideal amount of time needed to reap the health benefits of the great outdoors.

How Nature Benefits Your Mental Health

Recently, scientists have been working out whether grass and trees could be used to treat depression and anxiety.

I Tried ‘Forest Bathing’ to Cure My COVID Fatigue

I rarely leave home because of the pandemic so I wondered, would going to a forest to do nothing in urban Singapore actually help my mental health?

Spending Just 20 Minutes in a Park Makes You Happier. Here's What Else Being Outside Can Do for Your Health

Physical activity was not necessary to increase well-being, the study authors found, even though plenty of research suggests that exercise is great for mental health, particularly when it’s done outside. For many people in the study, simply being in green space seemed to be enough to spark a change, says study co-author Hon Yuen, director of research in the occupational therapy department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The great outdoors? Exploring the mental health benefits of natural environments

There is growing evidence to suggest that exposure to natural environments can be associated with mental health benefits. Proximity to greenspace has been associated with lower levels of stress...

Tree Therapy? ‘Forest Bathers’ Say It Helps

They call themselves forest bathers, part of a growing movement that believes immersing oneself in nature and in the chemicals plants and trees emit has unexpected medical benefits.

Two hours a week spent outdoors in nature linked with better health

The magnitude of health gains of 2 hours spent in nature appear to be significant, on a par with the health differences associated between living in a well-off area and a deprived one. They also seem to apply to everyone, regardless of age, gender, long term illness or disability. “You don’t have to be running around the park, just sitting on a bench will do...