Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Health and the Role of Nature in Enhancing Mental Health

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Futures

  • 37 Accesses

Synonyms

Mental health; Nature; Physical health; Social health; Urban green infrastructure; Well-being

Definition

Health has been conceptualized in countless ways either as normality, as the absence of disease, as equilibrium, as functionality, as fitness, as resilience, as thriving, as a right, or as a resource. In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a definition of health as a “state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” In 1968, the WHO expanded their definition by adding: “to reach a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living.” This has become one of the most widely used definitions of health as it alludes to three key (and interdependent) domains of health: physical,...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allen, A. P., Dinan, T. G., Clarke, G., & Cryan, J. F. (2017). A psychology of the human brain–gut–microbiome axis. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11(4), e12309. https://doi.org/10/gft4w2.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Appleton, J. (1975). The experience of landscape. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badiu, D. L., Onose, D. A., Niță, M. R., & Lafortezza, R. (2019). From “red” to green? A look into the evolution of green spaces in a post-socialist city. Landscape and Urban Planning, 187, 156–164. https://doi.org/10/ghs8bh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balooni, K., Gangopadhyay, K., & Kumar, B. M. (2014). Governance for private green spaces in a growing Indian city. Landscape and Urban Planning, 123, 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.12.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barros, P., Ng Fat, L., Garcia, L. M. T., Slovic, A. D., Thomopoulos, N., de Sá, T. H., Morais, P., & Mindell, J. S. (2019). Social consequences and mental health outcomes of living in high-rise residential buildings and the influence of planning, urban design and architectural decisions: A systematic review. Cities, 93, 263–272. https://doi.org/10/gmb5gr.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barton, H., & Grant, M. (2006). A health map for the local human habitat. Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 126(6), 252–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besser, L. (2021). Outdoor green space exposure and brain health measures related to Alzheimer’s disease: A rapid review. BMJ Open, 11(5), e043456. https://doi.org/10/gkm3qv.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bettmann, J. E., Prince, K. C., Ganesh, K., Rugo, K. F., Bryan, A. O., Bryan, C. J., Rozek, D. C., & Leifker, F. R. (2021). The effect of time outdoors on veterans receiving treatment for PTSD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77(9), 2041–2056. https://doi.org/10/gmnqwr.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bircher, J., & Kuruvilla, S. (2014). Defining health by addressing individual, social, and environmental determinants: New opportunities for health care and public health. Journal of Public Health Policy, 35(3), 363–386. https://doi.org/10/f6cx8q.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Blanusa, T., Garratt, M., Cathcart-James, M., Hunt, L., & Cameron, R. W. F. (2019). Urban hedges: A review of plant species and cultivars for ecosystem service delivery in north-west Europe. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 44, 126391. https://doi.org/10/ghxhp5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bratman, G. N., Anderson, C. B., Berman, M. G., Cochran, B., de Vries, S., Flanders, J., Folke, C., Frumkin, H., Gross, J. J., Hartig, T., Kahn, P. H., Kuo, M., Lawler, J. J., Levin, P. S., Lindahl, T., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Mitchell, R., Ouyang, Z., Roe, J., … Daily, G. C. (2019). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances, 5(7), eaax0903. https://doi.org/10/gf6z8v.

  • Brown, C., & Grant, M. (2005). Biodiversity and human health: What role in nature for health urban planning. Built Environment, 31(4), 326–338. https://doi.org/10/b7qwx2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, R. W. F., & Blanusa, T. (2016). Green infrastructure and ecosystem services – Is the devil in the detail? Annals of Botany, 118(3), 377–391. https://doi.org/10/f86cbr.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, R. W. F., Blanusa, T., Taylor, J. E., Salisbury, A., Halstead, A. J., Henricot, B., & Thompson, K. (2012). The domestic garden – Its contribution to urban green infrastructure. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 11, 129–137. https://doi.org/10/f2qdrw.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chalmin-Pui, L. S., Griffiths, A., Roe, J., & Cameron, R. (2021a). Gardens with kerb appeal – A framework to understand the relationship between Britain in Bloom gardeners and their front gardens. Leisure Sciences, 32, 1–21. https://doi.org/10/gjwd64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chalmin-Pui, L. S., Griffiths, A., Roe, J., Heaton, T., & Cameron, R. (2021b). Why garden? – Attitudes and the perceived health benefits of home gardening. Cities, 112, 103118. https://doi.org/10/gjvknm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chalmin-Pui, L. S., Roe, J., Griffiths, A., Smyth, N., Heaton, T., Clayden, A., & Cameron, R. (2021c). “It made me feel brighter in myself” – The health and well-being impacts of a residential front garden horticultural intervention. Landscape and Urban Planning, 205, 103958. https://doi.org/10/ghdg5m.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherrie, M. P. C., Shortt, N. K., Mitchell, R. J., Taylor, A. M., Redmond, P., Ward Thompson, C., Starr, J. M., Deary, I. J., & Pearce, J. R. (2018). Green space and cognitive ageing: A retrospective life course analysis in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Social Science and Medicine, 196, 56–65. https://doi.org/10/gc2xv3.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahlgren, G., & Whitehead, M. (1991). The main determinants of health model – European strategies for tackling social inequities in health: Levelling up, part 2. World Health OrganizationRegional Office for Europe

    Google Scholar 

  • Engemann, K., Pedersen, C. B., Arge, L., Tsirogiannis, C., Mortensen, P. B., & Svenning, J.-C. (2018). Childhood exposure to green space – A novel risk-decreasing mechanism for schizophrenia? Schizophrenia Research, 199, 142–148. https://doi.org/10/gfcq2n.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faber Taylor, A., & Kuo, F. E. (2011). Could exposure to everyday green spaces help treat ADHD? Evidence from children’s play settings. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 3(3), 281–303. https://doi.org/10/dp8fkg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finerman, R., & Sackett, R. (2003). Using home gardens to decipher health and healing in the Andes. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 17(4), 459–482. https://doi.org/10.2307/3655347.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frumkin, H., Wendel, A., Abrams, R. F., & Malizia, E. (2011). An introduction to healthy places. In Making healthy places – Designing and building for health, well-being, and sustainability (pp. 3–30). Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Garcia, M. J., Christien, L., García-Escalona, E., & González-García, C. (2020). Sensitivity of green spaces to the process of urban planning. Three case studies of Madrid (Spain). Cities, 100, 102655. https://doi.org/10/gj2fg4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huber, M., Knottnerus, J. A., Green, L., van der Horst, H., Jadad, A. R., Kromhout, D., Leonard, B., Lorig, K., Loureiro, M. I., van der Meer, J. W. M., Schnabel, P., Smith, R., van Weel, C., & Smid, H. (2011). Health: How should we define it? BMJ, 343(7817), 235–237. https://doi.org/10/ccfsst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, V., & Bamkole, O. (2019). The relationship between social cohesion and urban Green space: An avenue for health promotion. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(3), 452. https://doi.org/10/gg5c7r.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, A., & Shackleton, C. M. (2020). Maintenance of public and private urban green infrastructure provides significant employment in Eastern Cape towns, South Africa. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 54, 126740. https://doi.org/10/gj2fhk.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kondo, M. C., Jacoby, S. F., & South, E. C. (2018). Does spending time outdoors reduce stress? A review of real-time stress response to outdoor environments. Health and Place, 51, 136–150. https://doi.org/10/gdpb8c.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lehberger, M., Kleih, A., & Sparke, K. (2021). Self-reported well-being and the importance of green spaces – A comparison of garden owners and non-garden owners in times of COVID-19. Landscape and Urban Planning, 212, 104108. https://doi.org/10/gj2fgn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovell, R. (Ed.). (2018). Demystifying health (issue valuing nature paper VNP13). Valuing Nature. https://valuing-nature.net/sites/default/files/documents/Reports/VNN-DemystifyingHealth-Web.pdf

  • Markevych, I., Schoierer, J., Hartig, T., Chudnovsky, A., Hystad, P., Dzhambov, A. M., de Vries, S., Triguero-Mas, M., Brauer, M., Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J., Lupp, G., Richardson, E. A., Astell-Burt, T., Dimitrova, D., Feng, X., Sadeh, M., Standl, M., Heinrich, J., & Fuertes, E. (2017). Exploring pathways linking greenspace to health: Theoretical and methodological guidance. Environmental Research, 158, 301–317. https://doi.org/10/gbvm6t.

    ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marselle, M. R., Bowler, D. E., Watzema, J., & Eichenberg, D. (2020). Urban street tree biodiversity and antidepressant prescriptions. Scientific Reports, 10, 1–11. https://doi.org/10/fqtc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moss, M., Earl, V., Moss, L., & Heffernan, T. (2017). Any sense in classroom scents? Aroma of rosemary essential oil significantly improves cognition in young school children. Advances in Chemical Engineering and Science, 7(4), 450–463. https://doi.org/10/gjz5p2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naghavi, M., Abajobir, A. A., Abbafati, C., Abbas, K. M., Abd-Allah, F., Abera, S. F., Aboyans, V., Adetokunboh, O., Afshin, A., Agrawal, A., Ahmadi, A., Ahmed, M. B., Aichour, A. N., Aichour, M. T. E., Aichour, I., Aiyar, S., Alahdab, F., Al-Aly, Z., Alam, K., … Murray, C. J. L. (2017). Global, regional, and national age-sex specific mortality for 264 causes of death, 1980–2016: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet, 390(10100), 1151–1210. https://doi.org/10/gbxxk6.

  • Notteboom, B. (2018). Residential landscapes – Garden design, urban planning and social formation in Belgium. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 30, 220–238. https://doi.org/10/gdg2jb.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office for National Statistics. (2018). UK natural capital: Ecosystem accounts for urban areas. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/bulletins/uknaturalcapital/ecosystemaccountsforurbanareas

  • Office for National Statistics. (2020). One in eight British households has no garden. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/oneineightbritishhouseholdshasnogarden/2020-05-14

  • Ohly, H., White, M. P., Wheeler, B. W., Bethel, A., Ukoumunne, O. C., Nikolaou, V., & Garside, R. (2016). Attention Restoration Theory: A systematic review of the attention restoration potential of exposure to natural environments. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part B, Critical Reviews, 19, 1–39. https://doi.org/10/f3ttj3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rautio, N., Filatova, S., Lehtiniemi, H., & Miettunen, J. (2018). Living environment and its relationship to depressive mood: A systematic review. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 64(1), 92–103. https://doi.org/10/dqr2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rehm, J., & Shield, K. D. (2019). Global burden of disease and the impact of mental and addictive disorders. Current Psychiatry Reports, 21(2), 10. https://doi.org/10/dqrz.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reyes-Paecke, S., & Meza, L. (2011). Jardines residenciales en Santiago de Chile: Extensión, distribución y cobertura vegetal. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 84(4), 581–592. https://doi.org/10/gf42jm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roe, J., & McCay, L. (2021). Restorative cities: Urban design for mental health and well-being. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sallis, J. F., Cerin, E., Kerr, J., Adams, M. A., Sugiyama, T., Christiansen, L. B., Schipperijn, J., Davey, R., Salvo, D., Frank, L. D., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Owen, N. (2020). Built environment, physical activity, and obesity: Findings from the International Physical Activity and Environment Network (IPEN) Adult Study. Annual Review of Public Health, 41(1), 119–139. https://doi.org/10/ghf26k.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shuda, Q., Bougoulias, M. E., & Kass, R. (2020). Effect of nature exposure on perceived and physiologic stress: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 53, 260. https://doi.org/10/gj2fdv.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soga, M., & Gaston, K. J. (2016). Extinction of experience: The loss of human-nature interactions. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 14(2), 85. https://doi.org/10/f8jd9x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Souter-Brown, G., Hinckson, E., & Duncan, S. (2021). Effects of a sensory garden on workplace wellbeing: A randomised control trial. Landscape and Urban Planning, 207, 103997. https://doi.org/10/ghm9q4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thygesen, M., Engemann, K., Holst, G. J., Hansen, B., Geels, C., Brandt, J., Pedersen, C. B., & Dalsgaard, S. (2020). The association between residential green space in childhood and development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A population-based cohort study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 128(12), 127011. https://doi.org/10/gh76td.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend, M., Henderson-Wilson, C., Ramkissoon, H., & Weerasuriya, R. (2018). Therapeutic landscapes, restorative environments, place attachment, and well-being. In M. van den Bosch & W. Bird (Eds.), Oxford textbook of nature and public health (pp. 57–62). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fioritom, E., Miles, M. A., & Zelson, M. (1991). Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 11(3), 201–230. https://doi.org/10/csp47k.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Hedger, S. C., Nusbaum, H. C., Clohisy, L., Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., & Berman, M. G. (2019). Of cricket chirps and car horns: The effect of nature sounds on cognitive performance. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 26(2), 522–530. https://doi.org/10/gj2fd9.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wellmann, T., Schug, F., Haase, D., Pflugmacher, D., & van der Linden, S. (2020). Green growth? On the relation between population density, land use and vegetation cover fractions in a city using a 30-years Landsat time series. Landscape and Urban Planning, 202, 103857. https://doi.org/10/gjkrkv.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2004). Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice: Summary report. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse in collaboration with the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) and the University of Melbourne. https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/promoting_mhh.pdf

  • World Health Organization. (2016). Urban green spaces and health – A review of evidence. København: WHO Regional Office for Europe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin, J., Zhu, S., Macnaughton, P., Allen, J. G., & Spengler, J. D. (2018). Physiological and cognitive performance of exposure to biophilic indoor environment. Building and Environment, 132, 255–262. https://doi.org/10/gdcvgg.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley, UK

    Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui & Tijana Blanusa

  2. The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui

  3. University of Reading, Reading, UK

    Tijana Blanusa

Authors
  1. Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tijana Blanusa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Chalmin-Pui, L.S., Blanusa, T. (2022). Health and the Role of Nature in Enhancing Mental Health. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Futures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51812-7_214-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51812-7_214-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-51812-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-51812-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation