IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v91y2013icp130-134.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is physical activity in natural environments better for mental health than physical activity in other environments?

Author

Listed:
  • Mitchell, Richard

Abstract

Experimental evidence suggests that there may be synergy between the psychological benefits of physical activity, and the restorative effects of contact with a natural environment; physical activity in a natural environment might produce greater mental health benefits than physical activity elsewhere. However, such experiments are typically short-term and, by definition, artificially control the participant types, physical activity and contact with nature. This observational study asked whether such effects can be detected in everyday settings at a population level. It used data from the Scottish Health Survey 2008, describing all environments in which respondents were physically active. Associations were sought between use of each environment, and then use of environments grouped as natural or non-natural, and the risk of poor mental health (measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)) and level of wellbeing (measured by the Warwick Edinburgh Mental health and Wellbeing Score (WEMWBS). Results showed an independent association between regular use of natural environments and a lower risk of poor mental health, but not for activity in other types of environment. For example, the odds of poor mental health (GHQ ≥ 4) among those regularly using woods or forests for physical activity were 0.557 (95% CI 0.323–0.962), compared to non-users. However, regular use of natural environments was not clearly associated with greater wellbeing, whilst regular use of non-natural environments was. The study concludes that physical activity in natural environments is associated with a reduction in the risk of poor mental health to a greater extent than physical activity in other environments, but also that activity in different types of environment may promote different kinds of positive psychological response. Access to natural environments for physical activity should be protected and promoted as a contribution to protecting and improving population mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Mitchell, Richard, 2013. "Is physical activity in natural environments better for mental health than physical activity in other environments?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 130-134.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:91:y:2013:i:c:p:130-134
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.04.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953612003565
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.04.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J. Pretty & J. Peacock & R. Hine & M. Sellens & N. South & M. Griffin, 2007. "Green exercise in the UK countryside: Effects on health and psychological well-being, and implications for policy and planning," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 211-231.
    2. Richardson, Elizabeth A. & Mitchell, Richard, 2010. "Gender differences in relationships between urban green space and health in the United Kingdom," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 568-575, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jiang, Wenhao & Stickley, Andrew & Ueda, Michiko, 2021. "Green space and suicide mortality in Japan: An ecological study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    2. Sandifer, Paul A. & Sutton-Grier, Ariana E. & Ward, Bethney P., 2015. "Exploring connections among nature, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health and well-being: Opportunities to enhance health and biodiversity conservation," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 1-15.
    3. de Vries, Sjerp & van Dillen, Sonja M.E. & Groenewegen, Peter P. & Spreeuwenberg, Peter, 2013. "Streetscape greenery and health: Stress, social cohesion and physical activity as mediators," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 26-33.
    4. Somajita Paul & Harini Nagendra, 2017. "Factors Influencing Perceptions and Use of Urban Nature: Surveys of Park Visitors in Delhi," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-23, April.
    5. Carolina Mayen Huerta & Ariane Utomo, 2022. "Barriers Affecting Women’s Access to Urban Green Spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Chia-Tsung Yeh & Ya-Yun Cheng & Tsai-Yun Liu, 2020. "Spatial Characteristics of Urban Green Spaces and Human Health: An Exploratory Analysis of Canonical Correlation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-14, May.
    7. Zhou, Min & Tan, Shukui & Tao, Yinghui & Lu, Yongzhong & Zhang, Zuo & Zhang, Lu & Yan, Danping, 2017. "Neighborhood socioeconomics, food environment and land use determinants of public health: Isolating the relative importance for essential policy insights," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 246-253.
    8. Catharine Ward Thompson & Aldo Elizalde & Steven Cummins & Alastair H. Leyland & Willings Botha & Andrew Briggs & Sara Tilley & Eva Silveirinha de Oliveira & Jenny Roe & Peter Aspinall & Richard Mitch, 2019. "Enhancing Health Through Access to Nature: How Effective are Interventions in Woodlands in Deprived Urban Communities? A Quasi-experimental Study in Scotland, UK," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, June.
    9. Jia Tao & Meng Yang & Jing Wu, 2022. "Coupling Coordination Evaluation of Lakefront Landscape Spatial Quality and Public Sentiment," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-29, June.
    10. Elizabeth P.D. Koselka & Lucy C. Weidner & Arseniy Minasov & Marc G. Berman & William R. Leonard & Marianne V. Santoso & Junia N. de Brito & Zachary C. Pope & Mark A. Pereira & Teresa H. Horton, 2019. "Walking Green: Developing an Evidence Base for Nature Prescriptions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Nuno Loureiro & Luís Calmeiro & Adilson Marques & Diego Gomez-Baya & Margarida Gaspar de Matos, 2021. "The Role of Blue and Green Exercise in Planetary Health and Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-12, September.
    12. Stella Apostolaki & Ebun Akinsete & Phoebe Koundouri & Panagiotis Samartzis, 2019. "Freshwater: The importance of freshwater for providing ecosystem services," DEOS Working Papers 1905, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    13. Jongwook Tae & Daeyoung Jeong & Jinhyung Chon, 2022. "How Can Apartment-Complex Landscaping Space Improve Residents’ Psychological Well-Being?: The Case of the Capital Region in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    14. Kyung Hee Oh & Won Sop Shin & Tae Gyu Khil & Dong Jun Kim, 2020. "Six-Step Model of Nature-Based Therapy Process," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-16, January.
    15. Alexandros A Lavdas & Uta Schirpke, 2020. "Aesthetic preference is related to organized complexity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, June.
    16. Ian Lahart & Patricia Darcy & Christopher Gidlow & Giovanna Calogiuri, 2019. "The Effects of Green Exercise on Physical and Mental Wellbeing: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-26, April.
    17. Carolina Mayen Huerta & Gianluca Cafagna, 2021. "Snapshot of the Use of Urban Green Spaces in Mexico City during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-23, April.
    18. Lucy E. Keniger & Kevin J. Gaston & Katherine N. Irvine & Richard A. Fuller, 2013. "What are the Benefits of Interacting with Nature?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-23, March.
    19. Wenjing Wang & Tong Wu & Yuanzheng Li & Hua Zheng & Zhiyun Ouyang, 2021. "Matching Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand through Land Use Optimization: A Study of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Megacity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-15, February.
    20. Krekel, Christian & Kolbe, Jens & Wüstemann, Henry, 2016. "The greener, the happier? The effect of urban land use on residential well-being," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 117-127.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:91:y:2013:i:c:p:130-134. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.