They could not completely take account of whether the health boost was down to taking more exercise. The researchers took a series of factors into account in reaching their conclusions, including the greenness of a person’s neighbourhood, levels of air pollution, and whether they were married, had children or had dogs. We have tracked 4,500 people’s visits from the same survey and what you find is they get more stress reduction if the location was an area of outstanding natural beauty, a site of special scientific interest or that kind of thing.” “We are also increasingly finding that the richness in biodiversity of a setting seems to be important. So you go away in a natural setting, it is quiet, it is relaxing and it gives you time to start to process things. The study did not attempt to find out why being in nature was so beneficial, but White suggested a sense of tranquillity could be the key: “Most people are under multiple pressures at any given time. The boost to health was the same as previous studies have shown come from taking recommended levels of exercise, or living in well-off neighbourhoods compared with poorer areas.
“I am continually surprised by the size of the effect,” White said. The data showed that two hours was the threshold for positive impacts: spending much more than that in natural environments did not appear to have any additional benefits. But White said half of people saw their gardens as representing more of a chore than a pleasure in any case. It did not include time people spent in their gardens, as this was not measured. The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, used data from a Natural England survey, the world’s largest study collecting data on people’s weekly contact with the natural world. However, with the pressures currently facing primary care, many GP practices spend the necessary time with a patient to link them with the most appropriate activity.” “More widely, patients often benefit from non-medical interventions such as an exercise class, learning a skill or joining a community group – often referred to as ‘social prescribing’. This research makes a strong case for people to get out and about in more natural environments. Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, the chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “It’s fascinating to see this link between exposure to nature and better health and wellbeing. The researchers were also surprised that it did not matter whether the two hours in nature were taken in one go or in a series of shorter visits, or whether people went to an urban park, woodlands or the beach.
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