Health benefits of nature

Walking in nature improves heart health and muscle strength, and its sustained rhythmic motion produces brain waves linked to improved memory, cognition and mood. Interval walking over undulating terrain can also help to control type 2 diabetes. A short 20-minute walk in green space is enough to change stress hormones. For more lasting benefits, six hours walking in pine forest over 3 days can increase natural killer cells and reduce stress hormones for more than a week. Long-distance walking provides time for reflection with a flow state that deactivates prefrontal cortex regions responsible for making plans and actioning thoughts, promoting focus and calm.

Being in nature boosts mental well-being, green spaces reduce depression, and being near water is more restorative. Focusing on tasks produces fatigue, low self control, obesity and depression, where attention restoration theory shows that the soft fascination in nature reduces stress and restores cognitive reserves. A min-fractal landscape like an open savanna or meadow with a few scattered trees is better for mental and physical well-being, since it increases alpha and beta brainwaves associated with calm feelings and focus. In an urban area, a garden walk is better than a cityscape, but dramatic architecture and history associations can provide some compensation. Non-urban environments are consistently better, with farmland walks, wildlife and biodiversity increasing well-being.

Our sense of smell is another avenue for nature to have an impact. Plants release volatile organic compounds. Pinene from conifers has anti-inflammatory effects, lowers blood pressure and reduces stress hormones, while raising natural killer cells that fight infections and cancer. It has a protective effect against stroke, seizure and heart disease. Olefactory enrichment from many odours can reduce symptoms of dementia, and at night can bolster cognition and memory, protecting against Alzheimer's. Coastal air with sea aerosol influences gene expression to protect against tumours and inflammation and strengthen metabolism, while providing vital nutrients like manganese, vitamins A and B12, and essential fatty acids, as well as iodine from seaweeds.

There are also special benefits in nature for neurodivergent people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or on the autism spectrum. The natural world can provide them a refuge with many kinds of stimulation, with a strong response reducing symptom severity and providing recovery from attention fatigue. Neurodivergence is more common in sustainability and nature-related fields, where identifying visual patterns, focussing for extended periods, and obsessive interests can be advantageous. This has real value in efforts to document, engage with, and protect the natural world.

SOURCES: based in part on Helen Thomson, "Take a hike", New Scientist, 3 May 2025, pp. 39-41; and
Chloe Martinez, "Oh, Look! A Bird!", Sierra Magazine, Spring 2025, pp. 56-58.