Get Your Greens

Is it just me, or does being in nature make us feel more…rooted?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Flowers, trees, and everything in between is what researchers call, greenspace! It feels refreshing to visit a park or garden, but are those benefits PROVEN?

Tytti Pasanen and colleagues surveyed city dwellers from eighteen countries.

They looked at how many visits to green space were made by people in two weeks. Then they analyzed how time outside may affect their relationships and mental health. The results? The more nature, the happier the person…and those around them! Each bi-weekly visit to green space was connected with a positive increase in mental well-being.

Next time you’re feeling down, don’t just reach for your phone. Go outside and get some green goodness! Even a little bit of nature can have you feeling happier, less stressed, and more like a social butterfly.

Who knew changing the GREEN-ery could make your mood sprout up? Not me though! What’s on the gram?


Reference: Pasanen, T. P., White, M. P., Elliott, L. R., van den Bosch, M., Bratman, G. N., Ojala, A., Korpela, K., & Fleming, L. E. (2023). Urban green space and mental health among people living alone: The mediating roles of relational and collective restoration in an 18-country sample. Environmental Research, 232, 116324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116324