When Nature Not Only Restores, But Fortifies

Review points to gap in existing environmental psychology literature

At a glance:

• Focus on restoration: For decades, research has primarily examined how nature helps people recover from stress or mental strain. Nature may also promote attention, positive affect and well-being even without prior depletion ('instorative' effects).

• Literature review: An analysis of numerous studies shows that research to date on instorative effects has been scant: Restorative studies were significantly more common than instorative studies (45 versus 8).

• Positive findings: Despite their small number, all of these instorative studies reported improvements in attention, affect or subjective well-being.

• Implications for daily life: The results suggest that green spaces not only contribute to restoration after depletion but may also promote concentration, resilience and mental health in everyday life.

A walk in the park after a stressful day is a classic example of how nature can help people switch off and unwind. But natural environments may offer even more: enhancing mood and cognitive performance even when a person was not previously stressed or depleted. This is the finding of a review article published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.

Environmental psychology has for decades examined the 'restorative' effects of nature: recovery from mental fatigue, stress or negative affect through spending time in natural environments. The authors of the new paper argue, however, that another aspect has until now received little attention: the possibility that nature can fortify us even in the absence of stressors through 'instorative' effects. They point to improvements in attention, affect and well-being starting from a neutral baseline, without prior depletion.

For the review, the researchers evaluated 54 studies that comprised 61 experiments examining the effect on natural and urban environments on cognitive performance, affect or subjective sense of relaxation. They then sorted the studies into three categories: those that deliberately exposed participants to a stressor prior to the nature experience, those that involved an implicit stressor through the study procedure itself, or those that did not involve any prior stressor.

The analysis reveals a clear imbalance: the vast majority of studies included in the review examined restoration and recovery following exposure to stress or mental strain. Only a few explicitly investigated whether nature can promote attention, positive affect and well-being even without prior strain. These studies consistently reported positive effects on cognitive performance and predominantly positive effects on emotional well-being. The authors nevertheless note that, due to their small number, the results should be interpreted cautiously.

"For years, environmental psychology has been driven by the question of how nature can help people recover from stress or fatigue," lead author Johanna Prugger, scientist at the Center for Environmental Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, says. "Our analysis suggests that we may have overlooked a more fundamental mechanism at work - namely, that nature can also boost human functioning even in the absence of stressors."

The authors note the considerable need for further research. Future studies should target whether - and under which conditions - nature can enhance human performance and well-being from a neutral baseline, without prior stress or depletion. More precise theoretical concepts, new measurement instruments and study designs embedded in everyday life are needed to better disentangle the various impacts of natural environments.

"We are only just beginning to understand how nature affects people," says Simone Kühn, Director of the Center for Environmental Neuroscience. "Until now, research has primarily focused on the role of nature as a restorative space. Future studies should pursue the question of whether nature can also bolster resources and make people more resilient to stressors in the long term."

The findings could also have practical implications for the design of livable cities. If nature not only provides restoration, but also strengthens concentration, enhances self-regulation and promotes mental resilience, the significance of green spaces in cities, schools and work environments becomes all the more important. Nature-based spaces would then not only function as places of regeneration, but as an important resource in the long-term promotion of health, well-being and mental resilience.