Study: Walking by water boosts mental health

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Walking along a canal or river bank boosts mental health, according to new research from London, UK.

The blend of both 'blue' and 'green' space eases anxiety and relieves stress.

A study of around 300 people showed it led to significant improvements in wellbeing.

Lead author Nicol Bergou, a Ph.D. student at King's College London, said the findings have potential implications for urban planning and policy.

They were based on 299 participants - including 87 with a diagnosis of mental illness.

Almost 8,000 assessments were completed using Urban Mind - a smartphone app that examines the impact of different aspects of the environment.

Ms. Bergou said: "Visits to canals and rivers could become part of social prescribing schemes, playing a role in preventing mental health difficulties and complementing more traditional interventions."

Spending time in nature is known to be good for us in a number of ways. The latest analysis is the first to specifically look at canals and rivers.

The volunteers were invited to complete an ecological momentary assessment three times a day for 14 days. Data was measured using a statistical technique.

Ms. Bergou said: "We found positive associations between visits to canals and rivers
and mental wellbeing when compared to being anywhere else and when compared
to being in green spaces.

"Increases in mental wellbeing were still evident after the visit had taken place.

"These effects remained significant after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity and education, and were consistent in people with and without a diagnosis of mental illness."

Ms. Bergou said: "Spending time near canals and rivers is associated with better mental wellbeing.

Yet at present, the mental health benefits of canals and rivers remain speculative in light of its limited evidence base.

"To overcome this limitation, we adapted a smartphone app that has previously been used to explore the effects of the urban environment on wellbeing, to specifically assess the impact of visiting canals and rivers on self-reported mental wellbeing, a strong predictor of mental health in the general population."

It also collected detailed information on the individuals, enabling the researchers to explore how the impact of visiting canals and rivers depends on characteristics such as age, gender and having a diagnosis of mental illness.

Ms. Bergou said: "A better understanding of the effects of these characteristics is critical for planning and designing urban and rural environments which support mental wellbeing in all citizens."

Visits to canals and rivers were measured by asking participants who stated they were currently outdoors to specify the type of place they were in.

They were also asked whether they had visited a canal or a river in the past 24 hours.

Current mental wellbeing was measured using 10 questions to identify levels of confidence, happiness, energy, anxiety, loneliness and tiredness.

Ms. Bergou said: "When compared to being anywhere else, regression analyses showed significant positive associations between visits to canals and rivers and mental wellbeing. They remained significant even after adjusting for potential confounders.

"Compared to being anywhere else, participants were more likely to report feeling safe both during the day and at night, as well as feeling socially included when visiting canals and rivers.

"In addition, they were more likely to describe the surrounding environment as beautiful, historic, peaceful and inspiring.

"In contrast, participants were less likely to refer to the surrounding environment using negative terms such as ugly, uninspiring, dirty, and dull when visiting canals and rivers."

In February more than 60 nature and health organizations launched the Nature For Everyone initiative in the UK to ensure everyone has local green spaces.

Gillian Burke, a BBC TV presenter, said: "Just the sound of birdsong, a bubbling stream or the wind through the leaves can lower a heart rate, ease anxiety and make us take a deep breath."

TV presenter and naturalist Steve Backshall has backed the initiative. One in five people in England do not have a garden or access to parks and open fields.

The most deprived areas of the UK have nine times less green space than the wealthiest.

Ms. Bergou said: "Over half the world's population live in cities, a proportion that is expected to rapidly increase in the coming years.

"Cities are becoming increasingly intensified and engineered with an increasing trend for high-rise buildings and a commensurate decrease in green space.

"People living in cities may not have easy access to blue spaces such as seas, oceans, lakes, and ponds.

"Urban waterways, canals and rivers, offer critical access to nature within the urban
environment.

"Our findings suggest that spending time near canals and rivers is associated
with better mental well-being.

"Further research on a more diverse sample is needed to allow the generalization of these findings to the general population and to examine whether visiting canals and rivers causes higher levels of mental wellbeing or whether better mental wellbeing leads to people visiting canals and rivers.

"If confirmed, the potential impact of the current findings on mental healthcare policy should be considered."

The study is in the journal PLoS ONE.