The Benefits of Nature-Based Solutions to Psychological Health

The impact of time spent in nature on psychological health has traditionally been related to the concepts of attention restoration and stress recovery. However, recently it has been found to benefit multiple other aspects related to psychological, mental and social health, at the cognitive, affective and behavioral level, respectively. Contact with nature triggers several positive outcomes from a socio-psychological viewpoint as well. For instance, green spaces provide an excellent opportunity to improve social interaction and cohesion, sense of place, sense of belonging to a neighborhood and community, as well as social inclusion of minority groups. Furthermore, exposure to the natural environment is associated with improved perceived well-being and a lower risk of poor mental health in terms of mood and anxiety disorders.

The idea of natural environments also includes the concept of green spaces within the urban context, which are often referred to as nature-based solutions (NBS). NBS are designed to address several environmental challenges in highly urbanized landscapes. Although their primary function is to enhance human health and well-being, their inherent benefits need to be further explored.

This Research Topic welcomes manuscripts focusing on psychological health and the urban, semi-urban and natural environment from different perspectives; these include, but are not limited to:
1. Original papers, systematic or bibliographic reviews and meta-analyses on human–nature interactions and benefits for psychological, mental and social health;
2. Original papers on new methods and/or theoretical paradigms on the relation between well-being and the natural environment;
3. Case studies, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on the effectiveness of exposure to urban greenness (e.g., community gardening) on psychological health.
We welcome a varied number of manuscripts within several disciplines (e.g., Environmental Psychology, Public Health and Environmental Science) adopting a transdisciplinary vision.

Keywords: psychological health, mental health, well-being, human-environment interaction, urban green space, natural environment

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.