The key dose of nature that promotes health
Spending two hours per week in nature is the threshold for promoting health and well-being.
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- Visiting natural settings such as town parks, and beaches for at least 2 hours per week can contribute to better health and psychological well-being.
- The 2 hours can be evenly spread out and the study results apply to a variety of occupational and ethnic groups.
“It’s well known that getting outdoors in nature can be good for people’s health and wellbeing but until now we’ve not been able to say how much is enough. The majority of nature visits in this research took place within just two miles of home so even visiting local urban greenspaces seems to be a good thing. Two hours a week is hopefully a realistic target for many people, especially given that it can be spread over an entire week to get the benefit.” - Dr Mat White, of the University of Exeter Medical School.
“There are many reasons why spending time in nature may be good for health and wellbeing, including getting perspective on life circumstances, reducing stress, and enjoying quality time with friends and family. The current findings offer valuable support to health practitioners in making recommendations about spending time in nature to promote basic health and wellbeing, similar to guidelines for weekly physical”. - Professor Terry Hartig of Uppsala University in Sweden.
