Lengthening your life can be a walk in the park.
We know that being in nature is great for you, but that doesn’t mean you need to give up the perks of living in the city to access those benefits. That’s good news for the 80% of Americans who now live in urban areas.
Research has exploded on how parks, pockets of natural life in a concrete cityscape, affect us. And the answer is clear: These green spaces boost almost every aspect of our wellbeing, paving the way for a longer, healthier life.
The link between health and greenery is something that’s been suspected for over 170 years, with designers like Frederick Law Olmstead seeing spaces like Central Park as an antidote to the rush and crowding of the big city.
Here’s what we’ve learned in recent years about how these spaces boost our wellbeing.
1. Better attention and mood â plus less stress
You don’t need real wildness to get the mental health benefits of being in nature.
Just a 30 minute walk through an “urban forest” was shown to help with attention and mood compared to those stuck inside on a treadmill, a June study from China showed. Their self-esteem and enjoyment of the exercise also increased after their stroll in nature.
Those who went on that walk also had lowered cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. They also had more parasympathetic activity, a system which helps the body relax and recover during periods of rest.
2. Better heart health
A 2018 review of over 140 studies found broad benefits for a number of aspects of health. That included exceptional impacts for heart and vascular health.
Authors found that more green space exposure was associated with lowered heart rate and diastolic blood pressureâthe bottom number of a blood pressure reading, which measures the pressure in arteries as when the heart relaxes and fills with blood.
This translated to lower incidence of stroke, hypertension (aka high blood pressure), dyslipidaemia (high fats in the blood stream), asthma and coronary heart disease.
It also meant a 16% lower chance of dying from heart issues and 31% lower chance of dying prematurely for any reason.
3. Less risk of dementia and stroke
People living in greener neighborhoods had a slightly lower risk of developing dementia or suffering a stroke, a 2020 study from Canada found.
Researchers looked at data on dementia and stroke in Ontario, and used satellite imagery to assess how green the patients’ neighborhoods were.
Researchers found that an increase in neighborhood greenery equivalent to the difference between the 25th and 75th percentiles was associated with a 3% lower risk of dementia and a 4% lower risk of stroke.
4. Lowered risk of diabetes
The more greenery you have around your house, the lower your risk of developing diabetes, a study from China showed.
The sweeping study looked at 22,535 adults in Ningbo in northeastern China and found that greenspaces lowered their risk of diabetes by 55% to 62%, depending on the measure of greenery. Older adults benefited the most, researchers found.
You might think that more green spaces would mean more physical activity and making it easier to keep a healthy weight, thereby lowering risk of diabetes.
But what’s really notable is that the decreased risk of diabetes couldn’t be explained by either physical activity or BMI, strengthening the theory it’s actually the greenery that’s benefiting residents.
5. Less use of prescription drugs
Merely living near or having a view of green spaces is not enough â you need to get out there to get the benefits, a 2023 study from Finland suggests.
They found that the amount of green and blue space around the home, and views of these space, were not associated with any medication trends.
However, the more often people went to visit green spaces, the lower their odds of using brain-altering medications, including anti-anxiety to antidepressants and sleeping pills.
Those who visited green spaces more often were also less likely to be taking medication to lower blood pressure and asthma medication.
