Natural Environments and Human Health. Alan W Ewert
Global warming
In considering our understanding of the relationship between natural environments and human health, two overarching questions serve to guide our thinking about the issue. First, is nature beneficial to human health? That is, can contact with natural environments increase health and well-being? Second, if natural environments are beneficial to human health, how are nature and natural environments beneficial? Other questions that flow from whether and how natural environments impact health include:
• From a research perspective, what issues and concerns should we take into account when developing our understanding about natural environments and health?
• What is the dosage or minimum threshold of effect from different exposures to natural environments?
• Are these effects due to vicarious or confounding issues such as novelty?
• Are the effects of natural environments on human health influenced by variables such as time, perceptions, and background?
• Can structured programs be developed that multiply the effect of natural environments upon human health?
Past research and literature provide a substantial amount of information to answer these questions related to health and natural environments. For example, we now have information about a number of health-related issues especially in relation to time in nature lowering blood pressure, increasing social connections, and increasing longevity. In addition, as illustrated in Table 1.2, there are varying levels of confidence concerning the level and quality of this information. While Table 1.2 presents only a partial listing, what becomes apparent is the growing breadth of information concerning human health and natural environments as well as the depth of that information. In Chapter 7, we provide a more detailed examination of the benefits and outcomes associated with natural environments and human health.
Accordingly, this book seeks to address these influences both by providing an overview of what is currently known about a given phenomenon (such as physical activity in natural environments) as well as discussing some of the past and current theories that seek to explain how these connections actually work. Thus, the book provides a bridge between what we do (individually and collectively) in natural settings and how that action can impact our health, both individually and collectively as the human species. Our hope is that the information in this book will spur students and professionals to want to know more about the connections between human health and the environment on a personal and professional level. We want readers to have useful information and to be part of the rich dialogue occurring in many disciplines as we find ways to increase health and well-being for all people. By extension the book modestly addresses how human understanding of the importance of the natural environment to our health and well-being can influence our relationship with the natural world.
Table 1.2. Health-related information concerning human health and natural environments.
| Information | Quality of information/confidence in information |
| Natural environments can be restorative | High: substantial database |
| Genetic predisposition may play a role in the effect of natural environments on health | Low: little research |
| Initial responses to natural environments are usually affective rather than cognitive | Medium: heavy reliance on anecdotal reports |
| Positive emotional states/blocked negative toned feelings | High: substantial research and anecdotal base |
| Decreased levels of stress and increased resilience and hardiness | Medium to high and developing |
| Building social networks/shared experiences | Medium |
| Physical fitness and levels of physical activity | High |
| Values (personal growth, self-awareness, reflection) | Developing |
Throughout the book we offer examples of research. We describe and discuss research and problems that may arise from research design or interpretation. We want readers to think critically about research and be able to analyze and interpret results. The bottom line based on the research for this book and the experience of the authors is that nature has been and continues to be essential and incredibly positive for human life and that appropriate connections with nature will positively influence human development, health, and well-being.
Who is This Book For?
Understanding the connection between human health and natural environments has implications for a broad range of people, both individually and collectively. Moreover, a number of often disparate disciplines have an interest in these connections. For example, health professionals have an obvious interest in how natural landscapes and time in them can provide positive health benefits or serve as a mediating variable for health problems. Likewise, landscape designers and policy planners have both an interest in and specific roles to play in this relationship (Cheng and Monroe, 2012). This issue, however, extends beyond the purview of the expert or researcher; other groups such as recreational professionals, conservation groups, social scientists, and educators also have a stake in understanding how natural environments influence health. For example, greenspace environments and their relationship to health have received a substantial amount of research focus through a variety of academic and professional disciplines (de Vries et al., 2003). So, who is this book intended for? Simply put: a wide range of students, academics, researchers, planners, and practitioners from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. These disciplines include, but are not limited to: Parks and Recreation, Adventure Therapy, Anthropology, Applied Health, Architecture, Biology, Business, Cognitive Science, Conservation Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Ecology, Ecopsychology, Education, Environmental Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, Health & Wellness, Landscape Architecture, Law, Natural Resource Management, Medicine, Nursing, Psychological Sciences, Political Science, Public Health, Religion, Social Psychology, Social Work, Sociology, Sustainability, and Urban Planning.
Readers specifically can expect to take four concrete pieces from this book. Through knowing the health benefits of being in nature, people will:
1. more readily be predisposed to integrating nature into their personal and professional lives;
2. be more prepared to implement action whether that is in programming or through legislation;
3. understand some of the critiques and techniques of researching the health benefits of nature so that they will be able to keep current and assess future research; and
4. renew their appreciation of nature and want to go outside and take everyone with them.
Underlying Assumptions
This book has a foundational assumption that interaction with the natural world is most often a positive, health-enhancing experience. While some literature discusses potential negative outcomes from interaction with natural environments (Andrews and Gatersleben, 2010; Bruni et al., 2012), the vast majority of research and scholarship supports the overall assumption in this book that natural environments can provide health-promoting experiences and behaviors for