A new study of international evidence for “nature prescriptions”—a recommendation to spend time in nature—has found that spending time in green spaces such as forests, gardens, parks, and meadows can heal high blood pressure, depression and anxiety, and insomnia.
Published on April 5 in the Lancet Planetary Health, the systematic review and meta-analysis led by Professor Xiaoqi Feng from the University of New South Wales Medicine & Health and Prof. Thomas Astell-Burt from the University of Wollongong assessed 92 international studies that tested nature prescriptions in patients.
Because contact with nature encourages healthy behaviours such as socialising and physical activity, Feng said this could potentially help to reduce the need for prescription medications for conditions like depression, asthma, and cardiovascular disease….