Living Near Green Spaces Improves Health

Today BBC News published an interesting article on work done by Mathew White from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter. He recently conducted a study looking into the benefits of green spaces on health and well-being. The findings of a previous study showed that people living in greener urban areas were showing fewer signs of depression or anxiety.

Various things such as job promotions, pay rises, winning the lottery, etc. can make people happier but the effects last for only 6 months to a year. These things don’t lead to long-term happiness. Dr White examined data from the British Household Panel Survey (about 40,000 households). What he found was that living in an area with green spaces, like parks, has a lasting beneficial effect on mental health (happiness, depression, anxiety).

As the mind and body are entwined, I’m sure there must also be physical benefits to living near green spaces.