A room with a green view: the importance of nearby nature for mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and its global response have resulted in unprecedented and rapid changes to most people's day-today lives. To slow the spread of the virus, governments have implemented the practice of physical distancing ("social distancing"), which includes isolation within the home with limited time spent outdoors. During this extraordinary time, nature around the home may play a key role in mitigating against adverse mental health outcomes due to the pandemic and the measures taken to address it. To assess whether this is the case, we conducted an online questionnaire survey (n = 3,000) in Tokyo, Japan, to quantify the association between five mental health outcomes (depression, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, self-esteem, and loneliness) and two measures of nature experiences (frequency of greenspace use and green view through windows from home). Accounting for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, we found that the frequency of greenspace use and the existence of green window views from within the home was associated with increased levels of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness and decreased levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Our findings suggest that a regular dose of nature can contribute to the improvement of a wide range of mental health outcomes. With the recent escalation in the prevalence of mental health disorders, and the possible negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on public mental health, our findings have major implications for policy, suggesting that urban nature has great potential to be used as a "nature-based solution" for improved public health.

Who has nature during the pandemic? COVID-19 cases track widespread inequity in nature access across the United States

“…Nature has the potential to reduce some of the distress associated with the pandemic by improving mental health and providing safe spaces for socializing, physical activity, and recreation [18][19][20] . Access to greenness (defined here as the total volume of vegetation in an area, quantified using NDVI) and parks has been tied to physical and mental health, including lower risk of mortality, lower odds of depression, and lower rates of obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease [21][22][23] .…”

Mental Health, Greenness and Nature Related Behaviours in the Adult Population of Stockholm County during Covid-19-related Restrictions

“…The aim of the restrictions has been to reduce disease transmission by minimizing physical contact between people. These measures, however, have affected a much wider range of societal aspects than the disease spread, with consequences on economy, social relations, health related behaviours, as well as being disruptive for services and education (1)(2)(3). People that are already struggling because of low income, social isolation or poor health are also likely to be the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of the pandemic-related societal actions.…”

“…In addition, for individuals on low income or on precarious contracts, the effects of the pandemic may become particularly severe as they already have poorer health and have an increased likelihood to be in insecure work without financial reserves (1). All this has raised concerns about the mental health consequences that this period of time may have on public health (2,6,7).…”

“…During the time of increased uncertainty, nature around our homes may play a key role in mitigating against adverse mental health outcomes (2,10). A myriad of scientific studies have suggested that experiencing greenness and nature is associated with mental health benefits (11).…”

“…When range and contexts of people's movements are curtailed, greenness exposure close-by homes, either through windows or in the immediate neighbourhood, including balconies and domestic gardens, may become increasingly important for psychological restoration and in support of mental wellbeing (2,10,31). Several studies have indicated that seeing greenness though window may promote health and wellbeing by providing micro-restorative episodes that promote healing (32)(33)(34)(35), facilitate psychological restoration (36), increase recovery from stressful events (37) an improve affective and functional wellbeing (38).…”