Study: Nature saved the psyche during the pandemic

During the Covid-19 pandemic, people's mental health was supported by contact with nature. Those with lower incomes and limited mobility particularly benefited, according to Canadian researchers who assessed the impact of nature on the well-being of 13,000 city dwellers.

Access to nearby green spaces – parks, playing fields, wooded areas, and even private gardens along streets – can act as a buffer for mental health, especially for people without a prior history of depression but with fewer economic resources and for those with limited mobility.

This is the claim of scientists from the University of Toronto, who analyzed data on 13,000 city-dwelling participants of the well-known Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

The Toronto team drew four main conclusions from their study. First, they found that urban areas with more vegetation were associated with lower rates of depression during the pandemic.

"Urban greenery wasn't just a backdrop. It played a protective role for mental health during one of the most stressful global events in recent history," emphasizes Professor Paul J. Villeneuve, lead author of the study published in the journal PLOS One .

"Our findings suggest that green spaces may have played a modest but noticeable role in supporting the mental well-being of lower-income Canadians during the pandemic, providing some relief from widening socioeconomic inequalities," adds co-author Susanna Abraham Cottagiri.

The study also showed that people with mobility limitations benefited more from living in greener neighborhoods.

Among those without prior depression, those with mobility issues experienced stronger positive effects from the presence of green spaces , likely because their access to more remote green spaces was limited. "When mobility is limited, green spaces right on your doorstep can play a particularly important role in supporting mental health and well-being," comments co-author Dr. Ying Jiang.

Another observation found that people who rarely visited more remote areas in their neighborhood before the pandemic experienced a stronger protective effect from living in green neighborhoods. The less someone traveled before the pandemic, the more the presence of greenery and green spaces in their neighborhood positively impacted their mental health during the epidemic.

- It seems that the psychological value of green spaces may increase when social contacts are limited, notes one of the researchers, Dr. Margaret de Groh.

"It is essential to expand equal access to green spaces, especially in lower-income neighborhoods. The idea is to protect and preserve local green spaces even during public health threats, and to integrate green infrastructure with strategies to strengthen mental resilience," emphasizes the study's co-author, Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson. (PAP)

Marek Matacz

mat/zan/

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