Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35259287›Full record

SynthesisApplied psychology. Health and well-being2022

Psychological benefits of outdoor physical activity in natural versus urban environments: A systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies.

Claire Wicks, Jo Barton, Sheina Orbell, Leanne Andrews

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Applied psychology. Health and well-being, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
65citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
16.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

65 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 163 citations in OpenAlex.

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  19. Testing nature-based biopsychosocial resilience theory: a research programme protocol.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026
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5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Claire WicksSchool of Health and Social Care, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8330-5373
Jo BartonSchool of Rehabilitation, Exercise and Sports Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3548-9478
Sheina OrbellDepartment of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8665-3541
Leanne AndrewsSchool of Health and Social Care, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7051-1875
University of Essex · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The impact of environmental context on the psychological benefits derived from physical activity has attracted research attention in recent years. Previous reviews have compared effects of indoor versus outdoor exercise. This review compares the effects of physical activity undertaken in outdoor green natural environments versus outdoor urban environments on psychological health outcomes in adult general populations. An electronic literature search identified 24 experimental studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Results were analysed via narrative synthesis (n = 24) and meta-analysis (n = 9) of effect on six outcomes. Narrative synthesis found in favour of the natural environment for anxiety, anger/hostility, energy, affect and positive engagement. Post-intervention effect sizes suggested duration and social context as potential moderators. The meta-analyses revealed large or moderate effects in favour of the natural environment for anxiety, fatigue, positive affect and vigour, and a small effect for depression. Results were subject to high risk of bias and heterogeneity. Physical activity undertaken outdoors in natural environments is more beneficial for a range of psychological outcomes compared with urban environments. The various effect sizes evident in the meta-analyses may be explained by differing mechanisms through which psychological gains are experienced during physical activity in nature.

Indexed as

AnxietyExerciseAdultFatigueHumansSocial Environmentenvironmentgreen exercisephysical activitypsychological health

Identifiers

PMID35259287
PMCPMC9544808
OpenAlexW4221090734

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.