Perceived exposure to nature boosts young adults’ mental health

In 5 seconds Young adults who are in contact with nature in their everyday environment, and also while exercising, enjoy better mental health, an UdeM study finds.
Perceiving nature acutely in a single context is not enough: this perception must concern both daily life and physical activity to have an influence on mental health, according to the study by Corentin Montiel and Isabelle Doré.

Is living in a leafy neighbourhood enough to improve your mental health? Not necessarily. What matters most is frequent exposure to nature across different settings, especially while being physically active.

That’s the takeaway from a study led by Université de Montréal postdoctoral fellow Corentin Montiel, supervised by professor Isabelle Doré of UdeM's School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences and School of Public Health.

Published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, the study comes amidst a noted decline in the mental health of young Canadians. Between 2011 and 2018, mood and anxiety disorders increased significantly among 19- to 24-year-olds. 

The numbers became starker during the pandemic: the proportion of 15- to 29-year-olds who said they were very satisfied with their lives fell from 72 per cent in 2018 to just 26 per cent in June 2020.

 

Beyond tree counts: measuring perception

Most research on nature and health rely on geospatial measurements. What is the vegetation density in the neighbourhood? How far to the nearest park? 

In his study, Montiel took a different approach, asking participants how much they actually perceive nature in their surroundings, particularly during physical activity.

“We wanted to find out whether people are aware of the presence of trees and greenery in their environment,” Doré said. “So we focused on participants’ perceptions of their surroundings in daily life in general and while exercising in particular.”

The 357 participants—average age 21.9—from the MATCH longitudinal study, underway in New Brunswick since 2011, were asked to rate, on a scale of one to five, how often they experienced natural environments both in daily life and during physical activity.

Université de Montréal postdoctoral fellow Corentin Montiel

The compounding effect

Contact with nature in just one setting doesn't seem to do the trick. The real mental-health boost comes from perceiving nature regularly in both contexts—everyday life and exercise.

Thirty-five percent of participants reported little exposure to nature in either setting, while 25 per cent reported high exposure in both. The second group scored 7.4 points higher on the mental-health scale than the first. 

High exposure in just one context initially seemed to have benefits as well, but after controlling for participants’ baseline mental health, only the group with high exposure in both settings had a statistically significant advantage (3.6 points), while the others no longer differed from the control group.

“It seems perception of nature must be combined across different settings to realize mental-health benefits,” Doré concluded.

 

A two-way street

The relationship between nature and exercise works both ways. Being in natural environments can encourage people to be physically active, while being active can make people more likely to seek out and notice natural environments.

Exercising in settings perceived as natural delivers particular mental-health dividends. Natural spaces redirect attention outward—toward birdsong and rustling leaves, for instance—rather than inward toward bodily sensations such as fatigue. 

This shift in focus may partially account for the mental-health benefits the researchers observed.

The study also raises issues of equity. In Canada, immigrants, racialized minorities and low-income households have less access to urban green spaces. These disparities limit opportunities for outdoor activity in a natural environment and deepen health inequalities.

Doré proposes a two-pronged solution:

  • Expand access to more distant natural environments through community programs such as school outings, carpooling and equipment loans.
  • Most importantly, promote local experiences of nature. “You don’t have to be deep in nature to hear and feel it," said Doré. "A city park can get people moving and increase their well-being.”
Professor Isabelle Doré of UdeM's School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences and School of Public Health

What comes next

Doré believes these findings could support the development of new public-health strategies to promote physical activity and mental health among young adults.

Her team is pursuing these questions through SeeNAT, a four-year project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council that will examine 36 types of physical activity, from pickup soccer in a city park to backcountry hiking, to see which offer the greatest benefits for young people's well-being.

SeeNAT will also incorporate geospatial data to measure divergences between participants’ subjective perceptions and the objective reality of their environment.

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