RESEARCH
Nature and Mental Health: An Ecosystem Service Perspective
Summary
This study looks at the well-established connection between spending time in nature and better mental health. The researchers point out that as more people live in cities and have less daily contact with the natural world, it becomes crucial to understand and protect opportunities for nature experiences. To do this, they brought together experts from different fields like environmental science, social science, and health to look at the existing scientific evidence on how nature affects our minds. The goal was to find common ground and create a way to understand these benefits in terms of “ecosystem services,” which are the ways nature supports human well-being.
The researchers reviewed a large number of studies and came to three main points of agreement. First, they found strong evidence that common ways of experiencing nature, like visiting parks or even seeing nature from a window, are linked to increased feelings of well-being. This includes things like more positive emotions, happiness, better social interactions, and a sense of purpose, as well as less stress. Second, the evidence suggests that nature experiences are also associated with a lower risk and burden of some mental illnesses, potentially by improving sleep and reducing stress. Finally, they agreed that for many people worldwide, especially those in cities, opportunities to have quality experiences with nature are becoming less frequent. Based on these points, the study proposes a conceptual model that breaks down how nature can lead to mental health benefits, looking at the natural features, how people are exposed to them, the types of experiences they have, and the resulting mental health effects.
