Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Review of Landscape Health Research

Abstract

Nowadays, several studies demonstrate that viewing nature has positive effects on human health and well-being. This essay discusses about the essential methods of viewing natural environment and their impacts on human well-being by clarifying four important theoretical models: reducing stress, lowering heart rate, improving outcome of surgery, and increasing attention. In addition, some important research results in this field are taken as examples to introduce research methods. By collecting and organizing existing studies and theories about the relationship between viewing nature and human well-being, the methods of viewing nature can be divided into two parts: viewing nature through specific media (e.g., through a window, a book, a painting or a videotape) and being with the presence of nature. This study aims to clarify the research significance of viewing nature and find deficiency in this field to maximize the role of landscapes in human health and well-being.