Cognitive-Emotional Benefits of Weekly Exposure to Nature: A Taiwanese Study on Young Adults

Abstract

Empirical evidence of nature’s benefits to cognitive and emotional well-being is emerging. In this study, 48 Taiwanese young adults (24 indoors and 24 outdoors in urban greenspace) completed four weekly 45 min exposure sessions. The study explores whether the outdoor group surpasses the indoor group in cognitive and emotional well-being and nature connectedness. There were no significant differences for the indoor group across different measurements of rumination and connectedness to nature. However, the outdoor group displayed a significant reduction in rumination post-test compared to the one week prior and the first session. Similarly, for sessions two, three, and four and one month post-test, the outdoor group’s connectedness to nature was significantly higher than pre-test. Specific autobiographical memory was enhanced while overgeneral autobiographic memory was reduced during the third and fourth sessions, though these changes were not sustained at one-month follow-up. Surprisingly, both groups yielded similar results in decreased depression, anxiety, and stress. A significantly higher number of outdoor group participants had employed nature exposure for coping with stress or emotions after the program. We discuss the implications of this for counseling services for young adults and highlight future research possibilities, including formulating a nature-exposure protocol and a program evaluation for consolidating evidence-based nature prescription.

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“…This phenomenon has led to the emergence of a range of studies examining the socioemotional benefits of exposure to nature (Berman et al, 2008; Huynh et al, 2013; Weeland et al, 2019; White et al, 2019). Specifically, exposure to nature has been consistently shown to be associated with higher levels of subjective well-being and lower levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and suicidal tendency (Bratman et al, 2019; Goh et al, 2013; Pasanen et al, 2018; Pritchard et al, 2020; White et al, 2017; Yeung & Yu, 2022). In a similar pursuit of comprehensively understanding the benefits of nature, numerous studies have also found a positive effect of exposure to nature on cognitive functioning, particularly on attentional control, in a variety of samples ranging from children to older adults (Faber Taylor & Kuo, 2009; Gamble et al, 2014; Palanica et al, 2019; Schertz & Berman, 2019; Stevenson et al, 2019; Tennessen & Cimprich, 1995).…”