Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Review of Landscape Health Research

Authors

  • Jiawei Lin College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, Texas, USA, 77840

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jaeser.v4i1.2227

Abstract

Nowadays, several studies demonstrate that viewing nature has positive effects on human health and well-being. This essay discusses about the essential methods of viewing natural environment and their impacts on human well-being by clarifying four important theoretical models: reducing stress, lowering heart rate, improving outcome of surgery, and increasing attention. In addition, some important research results in this field are taken as examples to introduce research methods. By collecting and organizing existing studies and theories about the relationship between viewing nature and human well-being, the methods of viewing nature can be divided into two parts: viewing nature through specific media (e.g., through a window, a book, a painting or a videotape) and being with the presence of nature. This study aims to clarify the research significance of viewing nature and find deficiency in this field to maximize the role of landscapes in human health and well-being.

 

Keywords:

Viewing nature; health; Reducing stress; Lowering heart rate; Improving outcome of surgery; Increasing attention

References

[1] Cooper-Marcus, C., Barnes, M. (Eds.), Healing Gardens. Therapeutic Benefits and Design Recommendations. Wiley, New York, NY, 1999.

[2] Ulrich, R.S., Health benefits of gardens in hospitals. Paper for conference: Plants for People. International Exhibition Floriade, 2002.

[3] Kellert, S. R., Wilson, E. 0. (Eds.). The biophilia hypothesis. Covelo, CA: Island Press, 1993.

[4] Kaplan, R., The psychological benefits of nearby nature. In: Relf, D. (Ed.), The Role of Horticulture in Human Well-Being and Social Development, vol. VI. Timber Press, Arlington, 1992: 125-133.

[5] Wells N, Evans G. Nearby nature: a buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and Behaviour, 2003, 35: 311-330.

[6] Xinxin Wang, Susan Rodiek, Chengzhao Wu, Yi Chen, Yuxian Li. Stress recovery and restorative effects of viewing different urban park scenes in Shanghai, China. Urban forestry & urban greening, 2016, 15: 112-122.

[7] Katherine R. Gamble, James H. Howard Jr., DarleneV. Howard, Not Just Scenery: Viewing Nature Pictures Improves Executive Attention in Older Adults, Experimental Aging Research, 2014, 40(5): 513-530.

[8] Joyce W. Tang, Robert D. Brown. The Effect of Viewing a Landscape on Physiological Health of Elderly Women. Journal of Housing For the Elderly, 2006, 19: 3-4: 187-202.

[9] Roger S. Ulrich. View through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery. Science, New Series, Volume 224, Issue 4647 (Apr. 27, 1984), 420-421.

[10] Diette, G.B., Lechtzin, N., Haponik, E., Devrotes, A., Rubin, H.R., Distraction therapy with nature sights and sounds reduces pain during flexible bronchoscopy, 2003, Chest 123, 941-948.

[11] Carolyn M. Tennessen, Bernadine Cimprich. Views to nature: Effects on attention, 1995: 15(1): 77-85.

[12] Karmanov, D., Hamel, R., Assessing the restorative potential of contemporary urban environment(s): beyond the nature versus urban dichotomy. Landscape Urban Plann, 2008, 86, 115-125.

[13] Chang, C.Y., Hammitt, W.E., Chen, P.-K., Machnik, L., Su, W. C., Psychophysiological responses and restorative values of natural environments in Taiwan. Landscape Urban Plann. 2008, 85(2); 79-84.

[14] Jiang, B., Chang, C. Y., Sullivan, W. C., A dose of nature: tree cover, stress reduction, and gender differences. Landscape Urban Plann, 2014, 132:26-36.

[15] Ulrich, R.S., Simons, R.F., Losito, B.D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M.A., Zelson, M., Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. J. Environ. Psychol, 1991, 11(3), 201-230.

[16] Salehi, M., Marefat, F., The effects of foreign language anxiety and test anxietyon foreign language test performance. Theory Pract. Lang. Stud, 2014, 4(5):931-940.

[17] Von Wörde, R., Students’ perspectives on foreign language anxiety. Inquiry, 2003, 8(1): 1-15.

[18] Spielberger, C.D., Anxiety: Current Trends in Theory and Research. AcademicPress, New York, NY, 1972.

[19] Spielberger, C.D., Gorsuch, R.L., Lushene, R., Vagg, P.R., Jacobs, G.A., Manualfor the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Consulting Psychologists Press,Palo Alto, CA, 1983.

[20] Wechsler, D., Manual for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.Psychological Corporation, New York, NY, 1955.

[21] Hauru, K., Lehvävirta, S., Korpela, K., Kotze, D.J., Closure of view to the urban matrix has positive effects on perceived restorativeness in urban forests in Helsinki, Finland. Landscape Urban Plann, 2012, 107 (4), 361-369, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.07.002

[22] Peschardt, K.K., Stigsdotter, U.K., Associations between park characteristics and perceived restorativeness of small public urban green spaces. Landscape Urban Plann, 2013, 112: 26-39. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.12.013

[23] Hung, K., Crompton, J. L. Benefits and constraints associated with the use ofan urban park reported by a sample of elderly in Hong Kong. Leis. Stud, 2006, 25(3):291-311.

[24] Yu, K., Cultural variations in landscape preference: Comparisons among Chinese sub-groups and Western design experts. Landscape Urban Plann, 1995,32(2):107-126, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-2046(94)00188-9

[25] Tsunetsugu, Y., et al., Physiological and psychological effects of viewing urban forest landscapes assessed by multiple measurements. Landsc. Urb. Plan, 2013, 113:90-93.

[26] Frumkin, H. Beyond toxicity: human health and the natural environment. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2001, 20(3):234-240.

[27] Tyrväinen, L., Korpela, K. Luonnosta terveyttä onnistuneella kaupunkisuunnittelulla. In M. Faehnle, P. Bäckllund, & M. Laine (Eds.), Kaupunkiluontoa kaikille: Ekologinen ja kokemuksellinen tieto kaupungin suunnittelussa (Urban nature for all: Ecological and experimental knowledge in urban design), 2009:57-71. Helsinki: Helsingin kaupungin tietokeskus.

[28] Tyrväinen, L., Pauleit, S., Seeland, K., de Vries, S. Benefits and uses of urban forests and trees. In C. C. Konijnendijk, K. Nilsson, T. B. Randrup, & J. Schipperijn (Eds.), Urban forests and trees: A reference book, 2005:81-114. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

[29] Matsunaga, K., Park, B. J., Kobayashi, H., Miyazaki, Y. Physiologically relaxing effect of a hospital rooftop forest on older women requiring care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2011, 59(11):2162- 2163.

[30] Bringslimark, T., Hartig, T., Patil, G.G. Psychological benefits of indoor plants in workplaces: putting experimental results into context. Hortscience, 2007, 42 (3):581-587.

[31] Cohen, S., T. Kamarck, R. Mermelstein. A global measure of perceived stress. J. Health Soc. Behav, 1983, 24:385-396.

[32] Cohen, S., G.Williamson. Perceived stress in a probability sample of the United States, 1988:31-67. In: S. Spacapan and S. Oskamp (eds.). The social psychology of health: Claremont Symposium on appliedsocial psychology. Sage Publ., Newbury Park, Calif.

[33] Clements-Croome, D., Y. Kaluarachchi. Assessment and measurement of productivity. In: D. Clements-Croome (ed.). Creating the productive workplace. E & FN Spon., London, 2000.

[34] Heerwagen J. H., Orians G. H. Humans, habitats and aesthetics. In Kellert S R and Wilson E O (eds). 1995. The Biophilia Hypothesis. Island Press, Washington DC, 1995.

[35] Ulrich R S. Biophilia, biophobia and natural landscaopes. In Kellert S R and Wilson E O (eds). The Biophilia Hypothesis. Island Press, Washington DC, 1993.

[36] Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C., Coley, R.L., Brunson, L. Fertile ground for community: inner-city neighbourhood common spaces. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1998, 26, 823-851.

[37] Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C. Environment and crime in the inner city. Does vegetation reduce crime? Environment and Behavior, 2001a, 33, 343-367.

[38] Juyoung Lee, Bum-Jin Park, Yuko Tsunetsugu, Takahide Kagawa, Yoshifumi Miyazaki. Restorative effects of viewing real forest landscapes, based on a comparison with urban landscapes, Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 2009, 24(3):227-234.

[39] I-Chun Tanga, Yu-Ping Tsaib, Ying-Ju Linb, JyhHorng Chenc, Chao-Hsien Hsiehc, Shih-Han Hungb, William C. Sullivand, Hsing-Fen Tange, Chun-Yen Changb. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2017, 162, 137-144.

Downloads

How to Cite

Lin, J. (2021). Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Review of Landscape Health Research. Journal of Architectural Environment & Structural Engineering Research, 4(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.30564/jaeser.v4i1.2227

Issue

Vol. 4 , Iss. 1 (January 2021)

Article Type

Article

License

Copyright © 2021 Jiawei Lin

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC