How time outdoors can benefit mental health

Nature beckons billions of people to get outside every day. Natural settings are not called “the great outdoors” for nothing, and nature enthusiasts may insist there’s nothing better than a day in the elements. Such a sentiment may be more accurate than the most ardent outdoorsman realizes. In fact, the American Psychological Association notes that extensive research supports the notion that nature provides myriad physical and psychological benefits.

• Nature can help with attention. A 2019 study published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science found that exposure to natural environments improves working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control. On the flip side, the study found that exposure to urban environments can be linked to attention deficits. Such findings echo conclusions from an experimental study conducted in 2015 by researchers in Australia. That study engaged students in a dull task to compromise their attention. Midway through the task, which involved pressing a computer key when certain numbers flashed on a screen, some students were asked to look out at a flowering green while others were directed to gaze at a concrete rooftop. Students who looked at the green made notably fewer mistakes with the computer screen task than those who looked at the concrete rooftop.

• Nature can increase happiness. Some findings suggest time spent in nature also can lead to increases in happiness. A 2019 study published in the journal Science Advances found that contact with nature is associated with increases in happiness and subjective well-being. The researchers also found that contact with nature is associated with an increased sense of meaning and purpose in life.

• Time outdoors may lower children’s risk for mental health disorders later in life. Researchers in Denmark used satellite data to assess more than 900,000 individuals born between 1985 and 2003. The researchers discovered that children who lived in neighborhoods with more green space had a lower risk of various psychiatric disorders later in life. Risk for depression, mood disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and substance use disorder were found to be lower among children who grew up with greater access to green space than children who had the lowest levels of green space exposure. Few things might be more welcoming than the great outdoors, particularly when the weather is warm. Taking advantage of access to nature can pay some surprising dividends that even the most seasoned outdoorsman might not be aware of.