Health Benefits from Nature Experiences Depend on Dose.

ABSTRACT: Nature within cities will have a central role in helping address key global public health challenges associated with urbanization. However, there is almost no guidance on how much or how frequently people need to engage with nature, and what types or characteristics of nature need to be incorporated in cities for the best health outcomes. Here we use a nature dose framework to examine the associations between the duration, frequency and intensity of exposure to nature and health in an urban population. We show that people who made long visits to green spaces had lower rates of depression and high blood pressure, and those who visited more frequently had greater social cohesion. Higher levels of physical activity were linked to both duration and frequency of green space visits. A dose-respo

SUBMITTER: Shanahan DF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4917833 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature