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A walk in a park, lake or tree-lined space can reduce the need for medication for anxiety, asthma, depression, high blood pressure or insomnia, a new study has found.
“Physical activity is thought to be the key mediating factor in the health benefits of green spaces when the availability or active use of green spaces is taken into account,” said study co-author Anu Turunen, senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare in Helsinki, in email.
The study found that visiting nature three to four times a week was associated with 36% lower odds of using blood pressure pills, 33% lower odds of using mental health medication, and 26% lower odds of use of asthma medications.
“The analysis may reveal key associations, but we can’t say for sure whether proximity to or use of green space led to reduced drug use,” said Lincoln Larson, an associate professor in the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, who did not participate in the study.
“Perhaps people who were healthier to begin with (and less likely to take prescription drugs) were more likely to go outdoors in the first place,” Larson said via email.
The study, published Monday, January 16, in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, interviewed approximately 6,000 random people in three of Finland’s largest cities about their use of green and blue spaces within a kilometer of their homes.
Green spaces include forests, gardens, parks, cemeteries, lawns, natural grasslands, wetlands and zoos. Blue spaces include lakes, rivers and seas.
Previous studies have found that people living near green spaces reap significant health benefits. A 2016 study compared the amount of plants and vegetation near the homes of nearly 100,000 women. After eight years, the researchers found that access to the most green spaces reduced women’s mortality by 12% and improved their mental health.
A 2019 study of green spaces around the world found that people who live near them are less likely to die prematurely. Even doctors are starting to prescribe nature as a mental health treatment, as CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores in an episode of his podcast series, Chasing Life.
The new study also examined the impact of being able to view green or blue spaces from home on drug use. Observing nature indoors doesn’t seem to work.
“Just seeing nature didn’t move the needle, but experiencing it did. Other research points to similar conclusions,” said Larson, who has studied the benefits of public parks in the United States on the well-being of urban residents.
“If you want to reap the full health benefits that nature can provide, you have to immerse yourself in these conditions,” he said.
Although research has yet to show a true connection, Larson still believes in the benefits of seeing, as well as experiencing, nature.
“If you don’t have access to these places, just seeing a green space (or maybe even experiencing virtual nature) is better than nothing,” he added.
You can even put a plant on your desk. A 2019 study found that taking care of plants at work slightly reduced stress for Japanese workers—unless their plant died. When objectively measured, 27 percent of workers showed a significant reduction in resting heart rate, according to the study.
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