ReviewInternational journal of environmental research and public health2017
A Review of the Benefits of Nature Experiences: More Than Meets the Eye.
Review in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 387 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- A systematic review of audit tools for evaluating the quality of green spaces in mental health research.Health & place · 2024Pooled it
- Inequalities in noise will affect urban wildlife.Nature ecology & evolution · 2024Pooled it
- Biophilic Experience-Based Residential Hybrid Framework.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- A Meta-Analysis of Emotional Evidence for the Biophilia Hypothesis and Implications for Biophilic Design.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- A synthesis of health benefits of natural sounds and their distribution in national parks.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Pooled it
- Restoration of Visitors through Nature-Based Tourism: A Systematic Review, Conceptual Framework, and Future Research Directions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Forest soundscapes improve mood, restoration and cognition, but not physiological stress or immunity, relative to industrial soundscapes.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Virtual exposure to natural versus urban environments: a pilot study on impacts on self-compassion, self-protection, and self-criticism.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The effect of brief exposure to virtual nature on mental wellbeing in adolescents.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Testing a New Protocol of Nature-Based Intervention to Enhance Well-Being: A Randomized Control Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- The Mood-Improving Effect of Viewing Images of Nature and Its Neural Substrate.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Walking Green: Developing an Evidence Base for Nature Prescriptions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- The forest as a health-promoting place-the meaning for seniors of playing padel in the forest: a qualitative study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- King Lear in the upper palaeolithic: searching for ethical principles in prehistory.Monash bioethics review · 2026Article
- Development of the Nature Impact Mental Health Intervention for People Experiencing Mild to Moderate Anxiety, Depression, and/or Stress-Co-Producing a Programme Theory and Logic Model.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Understanding the nature-wellbeing relationship in adults: a qualitative metasynthesis review.Wellbeing, space and society · 2026Review
- Psychophysiological responses to tactile contact with hairy versus hairless plant leaves.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Examining the Effects of Viewing Nature and Animal Smartphone Wallpapers on Affect, Behaviour, and Cognition: A Randomised Cross-Over Trial.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Nature-Based Health Interventions for People with Mild to Moderate Anxiety, Depression, and/or Stress: Identifying Target Groups, Professionals, Mechanisms, and Outcomes Through a Delphi Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Evidence that experiences of nature can benefit people has accumulated rapidly. Yet perhaps because of the domination of the visual sense in humans, most research has focused on the visual aspects of nature experiences. However, humans are multisensory, and it seems likely that many benefits are delivered through the non-visual senses and these are potentially avenues through which a physiological mechanism could occur. Here we review the evidence around these lesser studied sensory pathways-through sound, smell, taste, touch, and three non-sensory pathways. Natural sounds and smells underpin experiences of nature for many people, and this may well be rooted in evolutionary psychology. Tactile experiences of nature, particularly beyond animal petting, are understudied yet potentially fundamentally important. Tastes of nature, through growing and consuming natural foods, have been linked with a range of health and well-being benefits. Beyond the five senses, evidence is emerging for other non-visual pathways for nature experiences to be effective. These include ingestion or inhalation of phytoncides, negative air ions and microbes. We conclude that (i) these non-visual avenues are potentially important for delivering benefits from nature experiences; (ii) the evidence base is relatively weak and often based on correlational studies; and (iii) deeper exploration of these sensory and non-sensory avenues is needed.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.