Evidence-Based Articles on the Human – Nature Relationship

Weir, K. “Nurtured by Nature: Psychological Research is Advancing Our Understanding of How Time in Nature Can Improve Our Mental Health and Sharpen Our Cognition.” American Psychological Association.

Bettmann, J. E., Speelman, E., Blumenthal, E., Couch, S., & Schmalz, D. L. (2024). Nature Exposure, Even as Little as 10 Minutes, is Likely to Yield Short-Term Benefits for Adults with Mental Illness: A Meta Analysis. Ecopsychology. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2023.0063

Chawla, L. Childhood Nature Connection and Constructive Hope: A Review of Research on Connecting with Nature and Coping with Environmental Loss. British Ecological Society.

Li, Q., M. Kobayashi, Y. Wakayama, H. Inagaki, M. Katsumata, Y. Hirata, K. Hirata, et al. “Effects of Phytoncide From Trees on Human Natural Killer Cell Function.” International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology.

Li Q., Effects of forest environment (Shinrin-yoku/Forest bathing) on health promotion and disease prevention–the Establishment of "Forest Medicine". Environ Health Prev Med. 2022;27:43. doi: 10.1265/ehpm.22-00160. PMID: 36328581; PMCID: PMC9665958.

Hunter, M., Gillespie, B., Yu-Pu Chen, S. “Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers.” Frontiers in Psychology.

Brymer, E., Freeman, E., Richardson, M. “One Health: The Well-being Impacts of Human–Nature Relationships.” Frontiers in Psychology.

Zylstra, M., Knight, A., Esler, K., LeGrange, L., “Connectedness as a Core Conservation Concern: An Interdisciplinary Review of Theory and a Call for Practice.” Springer Science Reviews.

Schertz, K., Berman, M. “Understanding Nature and its Cognitive Benefits.” Sage Journals: Current Directions in Psychological Science.

Capaldi, C., Passmore, H., Nisbet, E., Zelenski, J., Dopko, R. “Flourishing in Nature: A Review of the Benefits of Connecting with Nature and its Application as a Wellbeing Intervention. International Journal of Wellbeing.

Lee, K., Williams, K., Sargent, L., Williams, N., Johnson, K. “40-Second Green Roof Views Sustain Attention: The Role of Micro-breaks in Attention Restoration.” Journal of Environmental Psychology.

Van Hedger, S., Nusbaum, H., Clohisy, L., Jaeggi, S., Buschkuehl, M., Berman, M. “Of Cricket Chirps and Car Horns: The Effect of Nature Sounds on Cognitive Performance.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Bratman, G., Anderson, C., Berman, M., Cochran, B., et al. “Nature and Mental Health: An Ecosystem Service Perspective.” Science Advances.

Sudimac, S., Sale, V., Kuhn, S. “How Nature Nurtures: Amygdala Activity Decreases as the Result of a One-Hour Walk in Nature, Which May Act as a Preventive Measure Against Mental Strain and Potentially Disease.” Molecular Psychiatry.

Engemann, K., Pedersen, C., Arge, L., Tsirogiannis, C., Mortensen, P., Svenning, J. “Residential Green Space in Childhood is Associated with Lower Risk of Psychiatric Disorders from Adolescence into Adulthood.” The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mayer, F., Frantz, C., Buehlman-Senecal, E., Dolliver, K. “Why is Nature Beneficial? The Role of Connectedness to Nature.” Environment and Behavior.

Zelenski, J., Dopko, R., Capaldi, C. “Cooperation is in Our Nature: Nature Exposure May Promote Cooperative and Environmentally Sustainable Behavior.” Journal of Environmental Psychology.

Dopko, R., Capaldi, C., Zelenski, J. “The Psychological and Social Benefits of a Nature Experience For Children.” Journal of Environmental Psychology.

White, M., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B., Hartig, T., et. al. “Spending at Least 120 Minutes a Week in Nature is Associated with Good Health and Wellbeing.” Scientific Reports.

Pritchard, A., Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., McEwan, K. “The Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and Eudaimonic Well-Being.” Journal of Happiness Studies.

Zelenski, J., Nisbet, E. “Happiness and Feeling Connected: The Distinct role of Nature Relatedness.” Environment and Behavior.

Cartwright, B., White, M., Clitherow, T. “Nearby Nature ‘Buffers’ the Effect of Low Social Connectedness on Adult Subjective Wellbeing.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. “Immerse Yourself in a Forest for Better Health.”

Ketler, A. “Doctors Explain How Hiking Can Actually Change Our Brains.” Collective Evolution.

Atchley, R. A., Strayer, D. L., & Atchley, P. (2012). Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning through Immersion in Natural Settings. PLoS ONE, 7(12), e51474

Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., Kaplan, S., & University of Michigan. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature (Research Report No. 12; Vol. 19, pp. 1207–1207). University of Michigan.

Stenfors, C. U. D., Van Hedger, S. C., Schertz, K. E., Meyer, F. a. C., Smith, K. E. L., Norman, G. J., Bourrier, S. C., Enns, J. T., Kardan, O., Jonides, J., & Berman, M. G. (2019). Corrigendum: Positive Effects of Nature on Cognitive Performance Across Multiple Experiments: Test Order but Not Affect Modulates the Cognitive Effects. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.

Herd, T. “The Mental and Therapeutic Benefits of Nature for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” National Parks and Recreation Magazine.

Bettmann JE, Prince KC, Ganesh K, Rugo KF, Bryan AO, Bryan CJ, Rozek DC, Leifker FR. The effect of time outdoors on veterans receiving treatment for PTSD. J Clin Psychol. 2021 Sep;77(9):2041-2056. doi: 10.1002/jclp.23139. Epub 2021 Apr 26. PMID: 33899932; PMCID: PMC8405544.

S. Ogletree, j. Huang, D. Reif, L. Y. Dunstan, N. Osakwe, J. Oh, J. Hipp. The relationship between greenspace exposure and telomere length in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 905, (2023), 167452, ISSN 0048-9697.

Stobbe E, Sundermann J, Ascone L, Kühn S. “Birdsongs alleviate anxiety and paranoia in healthy participants.” Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 13;12(1):16414. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-20841-0. PMID: 36229489; PMCID: PMC9561536.

Sima, R., “Why Birds and Their Songs are Good for Our Mental Health.” The Washington Post

McDonnell, D. Strayer. Immersion in nature enhances neural indices of executive attention. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1)