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A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments
Open accessAbstract
Background: There is increasing interest in the potential role of the natural environment in human health and well-being. However, the evidence-base for specific and direct health or well-being benefits of activity within natural compared to more synthetic environments has not been systematically assessed. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to collate and synthesise the findings of studies that compare measurements of health or well-being in natural and synthetic environments. Effect sizes of the differences between environments were calculated and meta-analysis used to synthesise data from studies measuring similar outcomes. Results: Twenty-five studies met the review inclusion criteria. Most of these studies were crossover or controlled trials that investigated the effects of short-term exposure to each environment during a walk or run. This included 'natural' environments, such as public parks and green university campuses, and synthetic environments, such as indoor and outdoor built environments. The most common outcome measures were scores of different self-reported emotions. Based on these data, a meta-analysis provided some evidence of a positive benefit of a walk or run in a natural environment in comparison to a synthetic environment. There was also some support for greater attention after exposure to a natural environment but not after adjusting effect sizes for pretest differences. Meta-analysis of data on blood pressure and cortisol concentrations found less evidence of a consistent difference between environments across studies. Conclusions: Overall, the studies are suggestive that natural environments may have direct and positive impacts on well-being, but support the need for investment in further research on this question to understand the general significance for public health.
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“Although a previous meta-analysis has been published that examined whether exposure to natural environments has a positive impact on health and well-being (Bowler et al., 2010)”
From The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: a meta-analysis (2014) · cites this paper as Bowler et al., 2010
In the citing paper
“For example, exposure to natural environments decreases stress, increases happiness, improves mood, and restores attention (Berto, 2005; Bowler, Buyung-Ali, Knight, & Pullin, 2010; White, Alcock, Wheeler, & Depledge, 2013).”
From Behavioral trainings and manipulations to reduce delay discounting: A systematic review (2019) · cites this paper as Bowler, Buyung-Ali, Knight, & Pullin, 2010
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“Natural spaces have been shown to provide individuals with well-being benefits [47]”
From Understanding How Virtual Reality Can Support Mindfulness Practice: Mixed Methods Study (2020) · cites this paper as [47]
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“Greenness exposure has been linked to increased positive affect (12-14), happiness (15), increased engagement in social interactions (7, 16, 17), enhanced sense of meaningfulness (18), decreased mental distress and improved manageability of life tasks (16, 19-21).”
The Mood-Improving Effect of Viewing Images of Nature and Its Neural Substrate
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“The modest indication of some potential positive impacts of the activities are consistent with other related systematic reviews which have suggested that contact with the natural environment is beneficial to health and wellbeing [2] and that exercise in outdoor natural environments is more beneficial than that taking…”
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The neuroaesthetics of architectural spaces
Chatterjee, A. K., Coburn, A., & Weinberger, A. B. (2021) · Cognitive Processing · doi:10.1007/s10339-021-01043-4 · Cited by 54
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Perceived greenness at home and at university are independently associated with mental health
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Environmental Education in Indonesia
Parker, L., & Prabawa-Sear, K. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780429397981 · Cited by 86
The Preference Analysis for Hikers’ Choice of Hiking Trail
Molokáč, M., Hlaváčová, J., Tometzová, D., & Liptáková, E. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su14116795 · Cited by 53
Taczanowska, K., Tansil, D., Wilfer, J., & Jiricka-Pürrer, A. (2024) · Cities · doi:10.1016/j.cities.2024.104798 · Cited by 53
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“…environments (e.g., wild forests, coastal areas, and designed greenspaces) are associated with wide-ranging positive outcomes (for reviews and meta-analyses, see Bowler et al. 2010; Hartig et al. 2014; Collado et al. 2017; Frumkin et al. 2017; Kondo et al. 2018; van den Bosch and Bird 2018).”
BackgroundBiophilic Design Patterns for Primary Schools
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Aesthetic preference is related to organized complexity
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““Naturalness”, a term used to identify “structural” morphological properties of our environment, has attracted particular attention; for review, see: [10].”
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“It is well-known that exposure to nature enhances well-being (Bowler et al., 2010).”
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Pramova, E., Locatelli, B., Valdivia-Díaz, M., Vallet, A., Conde, Y. Q., Djoudi, H., Colloff, M., Bousquet, F., Tassin, J., & Roldan, C. M. (2021) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.10286 · Cited by 42
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Urban Forest Indicators for Planning and Designing Future Forests
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“This indicator relates to the literature examining the human health benefits of additional physical activity linked to increased greenspace within a community [30–33].”
BackgroundGray space and green space proximity associated with higher anxiety in youth with autism
Larson, L. R., Barger, B. D., Ogletree, S. S., Torquati, J., Rosenberg, S. A., Gaither, C. J., Bartz, J. M., Gardner, A. W., Moody, E. J., & Schutte, A. R. (2018) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.07.006 · Cited by 54
“Literature reviews confirm these findings, revealing reliable evidence of reductions in self-reported anger, fatigue, anxiety, and sadness following contact with natural environments (Bowler et al., 2010; Hartig et al., 2014).”
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The Role of Tourism Impacts on Cultural Ecosystem Services
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Affective Benefits of Nature Contact: The Role of Rumination
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“Studies from multiple disciplines support an association of nature contact with psychological well-being (Bowler et al., 2010; Keniger et al., 2013; Frumkin et al., 2017; White et al., 2017; Kondo et al., 2018).”
BackgroundPsychological Well-Being and Nature Relatedness
Grabowska-Chenczke, O., Wajchman-Świtalska, S., & Woźniak, M. (2022) · Forests · doi:10.3390/f13071048 · Cited by 54
Effects of forest walking on physical and mental health in elderly populations: a systematic review
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Calogiuri, G., Nordtug, H., & Weydahl, A. (2015) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/06.pms.121c17x0 · Cited by 50
Calogiuri, G., Patil, G. G., & Aamodt, G. (2016) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph13111165 · Cited by 51
“), providing even greater health benefits than those related to physical activity (PA) alone [1,2].”
BackgroundMapping the knowledge of green consumption: a meta-analysis
Zhao, G., Geng, Y., Sun, H., Tian, X., Chen, W., & Wu, D. F. (2020) · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · doi:10.1007/s11356-020-11029-y · Cited by 52
Zhang, L., Dempsey, N., & Cameron, R. W. F. (2022) · Urban forestry & urban greening · doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127795 · Cited by 60
Metadata
- Authors
- Bowler, D. E., Buyung-Ali, L. M., Knight, T. M., & Pullin, A. S.
- Affiliations
- Bangor University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Pullin, Andrew S
- Venue
- BMC Public Health
- Published
- 2010-08-04
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 456-456
- ISSN
- 1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2924288
- OpenAlex
- W2115180584
- Cited by
- 1,993
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 108 · 2025: 146 · 2024: 206 · 2023: 172 · 2022: 176 · 2021: 184 · 2020: 227 · 2019: 167 · 2018: 138 · 2017: 103 · 2016: 112 · 2015: 80 · 2014: 78 · 2013: 54 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 3.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BMC Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Natural England
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Green Space and Health
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Acoustics and Ultrasonics › Noise Effects and Management
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- natural environment, synthetic environments, built environment, well-being, self-reported emotion, attention, blood pressure, cortisol, walking, running, green spaces, public parks, urban green space, nature exposure
- MeSH terms
- Health Status, Humans, Personal Satisfaction, Nature
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