Health and Wellbeing Benefits from Nature Experiences in Tropical Settings Depend on Strength of Connection to Nature
Open Access
- 27 September 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 18 (19), 10149
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910149
Abstract
A growing number of policies and programmes in cities aim to increase the time people spend in nature for the health and wellbeing benefits delivered by such interactions. Yet, there is little research investigating the extent to which, and for whom, nature experiences deliver such benefits outside Europe, North America, and Australia. Here, we assessed the relationships between nature dose (frequency, duration, and intensity) and three mental wellbeing (depression, stress, and anxiety) and two physical health (high blood pressure, diabetes) outcomes in Singapore, an intensely urbanised tropical city. Our analyses accounted for individual factors, including socio-economic status, nature connection (nature relatedness), and whether people with poor health are prevented by their condition from visiting green spaces. Our results show that the association between nature dose (specifically duration) and mental wellbeing is moderated by a nature connection. Specifically, people with a stronger nature connection were less likely to be depressed, stressed, and anxious, regardless of the duration of their nature dose. For those with a weaker connection to nature, spending longer in nature was associated with being more depressed, stressed, and anxious. We did not find a relationship between nature dose and high blood pressure or diabetes. Our results highlight that the relationship between nature dose and wellbeing might vary substantially among cities.Funding Information
- Ministry of National Development - Singapore (R-154-000-B05-490)
- National Parks Board - Singapore (R-154-000-B05-490)
This publication has 98 references indexed in Scilit:
- From ‘healthful exercise’ to ‘nature on prescription’: The politics of urban green spaces and walking for healthLandscape and Urban Planning, 2013
- Perspectives on five decades of the urban greening of SingaporeCities, 2013
- Environmental biodiversity, human microbiota, and allergy are interrelatedProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012
- Globalization of DiabetesDiabetes Care, 2011
- The Sydney Diabetes Prevention Program: A community-based translational studyBMC Public Health, 2010
- Patterns of GPS measured time outdoors after school and objective physical activity in English children: the PEACH projectInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2010
- Cultural mosaics and mental models of natureProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007
- Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversityBiology Letters, 2007
- World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updatedMeteorologische Zeitschrift, 2006
- Green space, urbanity, and health: how strong is the relation?Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2006