Category Publications
Associations between nature and sleep
Leanne, Mat, Lewis and James, working with collaborators from Europe, the US and Australia, have used survey data from 18 countries to explore the roles of specific types of nature exposure, and potential underlying mechanisms, on nature-sleep associations. The paper was published in Environmental Research. Insufficient sleep has been described as a significant public health […]
The contribution of blue space to well-being in the lives of people with severe mental illness
Sarah and Lewis have collaborated on new research which explored the ways in which people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar use bluespaces including coastals and inland waters, and how it affects their mental health. The paper was published in the journal People and Nature. Semi-structured online and telephone interviews were carried out […]
Nature-based physical activity prevents several diseases, including depression and type 2 diabetes
In a new study published this week, we found that physical activity in natural environments prevents almost 13,000 cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) a year in England and avoided healthcare and societal costs of more than £100m. The paper was led by Dr James Grellier, and is available open access, in the journal Environment International: […]
Community gardening groups bring benefits for people living with dementia and their carers
Community gardening groups can bring multiple benefits for people living with dementia and their care partners, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Exeter and Natural England. People with dementia, their family members, and group leads, were interviewed about their experiences as part of the research, which looked at the impact […]
BMJ editorial: Nature prescribing
Ruth Garside, Becca, and Kerryn Husk, with Georgie Sowman and Edward Chapman, co-authored a BMJ editorial for the Christmas edition of the journal. The editorial dicussed the evidence and investment that are needed to ensure green social prescribing supports health and aids nature recovery. We argue that in additon to being used to benefit the […]
New paper: Using systems thinking when evaluating nature-based solutions
The major challenges that society faces, such as noncommunicable diseases and climate change, require large-scale interventions that work in complex systems. These interventions are often at regional or national level scales and can rarely be evaluated using experimental methods as researchers typically can’t control who receives the intervention. Nevertheless, evaluation of these types of interventions […]
Healing Power of Nature: Podcast from Alex Smalley
Alex has worked with BBC Studios Natural History Unit and Audible to create a new podcast focusing on the healing power of nature. You can read more about Alex’s work on his Virtual Nature project site. In today’s fast-paced world, most people are familiar with feeling stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed. But a remarkable resource exists […]
New paper: The ‘nature-based biopsychosocial resilience theory’
The first paper from the Resonate project has been published. The paper details a new ‘nature-based biopsychosocial resilience theory’ (NBRT), which describes the ways in which nature based solutions, including green social prescribing, can help individuals and communities cope better with climate change and other environmental, social or personal stressors by enhancing social-ecological resilience. White, […]
New paper: Greenspace and mental health – a longitudinal dynamic panel study in Wales
There is growing evidence that living near or spending time in green and natural spaces is asociated with better health and well-being. However, most of this evidence is cross sectional, which represents a snapshot of people’s lives and cannot account for within person variation. This leaves open the possibility of reverse causality, where individuals with […]
New paper: Testing pathways between nature and health
Lewis and colleagues have published a new paper exploring the pathways between nature and health in Environment International. The team’s main aim was to investigate the relative importance of multiple mediating pathways (air quality, physical activity, social contact, subjective well-being) through which exposure to, and contact with, different types of natural environment may benefit self-reported […]
Beyond Greenspace 