2025/09/09 by Tobias Harvey, Mathew P. White, Sabine Pahl +1 · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Psychology · #Child Therapy and Development #Depression (economics) #Happiness #Mental health #Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research #Public health #Urban Green Space and Health #Well-being
paper · doi:10.1080/17439760.2025.2549296
published in The Journal of Positive Psychology 21(4), 805-818 (Routledge)
openalex publication_date 2025/09/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/24
Recreational time in nature is linked to greater positive and fewer negative emotions than time in built settings, but it is unclear whether benefits: a) are short-lived or ‘spill-over’ across the day; b) apply to both general populations and people with common mental health disorders (CMDs) such as depression and anxiety; and c) extend across different types of nature (green vs. blue spaces). Using survey data from a representative Austrian adult sample (n = 2,140), we examined ‘happiness’ and ‘anxiety yesterday’ as a function of whether respondents visited green or blue spaces (65.7% & 32.6% respectively), and whether they reported depression/anxiety medication use (13.6%). Controlling for socio-demographic, temporal, and well-being factors, visits to nature were associated with greater happiness regardless of CMD status. Among those with CMDs, blue space visits also related to higher anxiety, possibly reflecting self-management. Results suggest nature visits support daily well-being, but blue spaces need further study.