Lower Income People Benefit Most From Engaging With The Natural Environment
Regular time spent in nature is more beneficial to the mental well-being of poorer people than richer people
Aerial view of Central Park, New York. (Original image from Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress collection. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.)
Nature may help alleviate income-related health disparities, according to a new study out of the University of Vienna and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna. The research found a strong correlation between weekly contact with nature and improved mental and physical well-being in people with lower incomes than in those with higher incomes. This benefit was seen only in people who actively visited or engaged with nature, not amongst those merely lived in or near greenspaces. Thus, this study revealed that actually doing something — birding, gardening, photography, hiking, playing frisbee, biking or another activity — was more important than where a person lived.
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