Interactions with Nature in Park Setting Increases Sense of Well-being


Valerie Varnuska of Westbury, New York enjoys exploring the natural world. Some of Valerie Varnuska’s areas of interest are the links between exposure to nature and health.

For centuries, humans have had traditions of gaining a renewed sense of wellness and purpose from interactions with nature. This practice was confirmed in a 2019 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research indicating that as little as 20 minutes spent in a park can have a measurably positive impact. The researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham took a survey of nearly 100 adults who indicated that they visited urban parks in the local area.

These participants answered a set of questions covering mood and life satisfaction before and after visits to the park. These were used to plot a subjective well-being score, with 55 the highest value. At the same time, participants wore fitness trackers that measured their activity levels while in the park. They were not given any particular instructions on how long to stay or how active they should be.

Of the participants, 30 percent took part in physical activity that was moderate intensity or higher, with the average park visit lasting 32 minutes. A key finding was that wellbeing scores increased in approximately 60 percent of people after a park visit, with the average increase 1.5 points on the 55 point scale. Whether the participants took part in activities involving significant physical exertion did not seem to have effect on how much their sense of wellbeing increased.

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