IJERPH, Vol. 21, Pages 329: Interactions with Nature, Good for the Mind and Body: A Narrative Review

IJERPH, Vol. 21, Pages 329: Interactions with Nature, Good for the Mind and Body: A Narrative Review International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph21030329 Authors: Dahlia Stott DeAndra Forde Chetan Sharma Jonathan M. Deutsch Michael Bruneau Jennifer A. Nasser Mara Z. Vitolins Brandy-Joe Milliron Interacting with nature may promote mental and physical health. There are multiple ways to interact with nature: indirectly, incidentally, and intentionally. How these types of interactions with nature may be associated with mental and physical health status and health behaviors is unclear. The purpose of this narrative review is to (1) describe the relationship between interactions with nature (indirect, incidental, and intentional) and mental and physical health outcomes and behaviors, (2) identify gaps in the literature, and (3) provide recommendations for future research. Considerable evidence suggests that interacting with nature, indirectly and intentionally, is associated with improvements in mental health and physical exhibitions of mental status. Furthermore, intentionally interacting with nature is associated with engagement in physical activity and gardening is associated with fruit and vegetable consumption. Research suggests that incidentally interacting with nature may be associated with positive mental health status. More research is needed to understand the relationships between incidental interactions with ...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research