There’s growing evidence that spending time in nature has a positive impact on our mental health and well-being. But new research from me and my colleagues shows that you don’t actually have to be in nature to reap the benefits: even in the middle of an urban area, simply turning your gaze to natural elements can boost your sense of well-being.
In our paper published in the journal People and Nature, we used eye-tracking technology to investigate how focusing on natural versus man-made elements affects mental health.
City life, with its fast pace and high stress, contributes to a number of mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.
The research team, led by me and consisting of my colleagues Brian Rizzowy and Assaf Schwartz, recruited 117 adults for the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: one that focused on natural elements like trees (the green group), one that focused on man-made elements like buildings (the grey group), and a third that combined both (the mixed group).
Each participant wore special eye-tracking glasses during a 45-minute guided walk around the city and campus, with the route including 10 designated stops designed to highlight natural or man-made elements depending on the group.
Before and after the walk, participants completed questionnaires assessing their mood, anxiety levels, and the restorative nature of the walk. The questionnaires included standardized measures such as the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Panas) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Stai).
The eye-tracking glasses recorded where participants looked during the walk, allowing researchers to quantify the time they spent focused on green (natural) or grey (artificial) elements. Indeed, our technology provided a precise and objective measurement of visual engagement, strengthening the association between nature exposure and increased well-being. The data showed that each group indeed spent more time looking at the scenery they had been asked to focus on.
The results were surprising: participants who focused on green elements reported significantly improved mood and reduced anxiety compared to those who focused on grey elements. They also reported higher levels of positive emotions and lower levels of anxiety after the walk. What’s more, they reported feeling refreshed and invigorated.
In contrast, the grey group did not see these improvements and the mixed group had intermediate results, suggesting that a partial focus on nature may also be beneficial.
Impact on urban planning
These findings have important implications for urban planning and mental health practice: designing urban spaces that incorporate natural elements and encourage visual engagement with nature may help to reduce the mental health burden of city living.
For example, planners can prioritize green spaces, tree-lined streets, parks, and ponds where people can stop and appreciate natural beauty.
The findings may also be useful for mental health professionals. For example, they could incorporate guided attention training into treatment, encouraging patients to focus specifically on natural elements during walks and other outdoor activities. This simple, cost-effective strategy could augment traditional treatments for anxiety and depression.
This study highlights the importance of visually engaging with nature and provides strong evidence that the mental health benefits of nature are closely linked to where we focus our attention.
For the average person, this research suggests a simple way to boost their mental health: by spending more time observing trees, flowers, and other elements of nature. Whether it’s during your daily commute, a walk in the park, or a weekend hike, intentionally directing your gaze toward nature can make a big difference in your mood.
“Our research highlights that simple, everyday actions can have a significant impact on mental health. As urban areas continue to expand, incorporating natural elements into urban landscapes and allowing people to visually experience these elements may play an important role in improving public health.”
This article was originally published on conversation by Whitney Fleming in Bangor UniversityRead the original article here.
