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ysabetwordsmithNature may ease loneliness in ways exercise cannot
The results show that everyday activities in nature can shape emotional wellbeing.
“The conclusion is that outdoor activities in natural environments largely have a protective effect against loneliness,” said Sindre Johan Cottis Hoff, a PhD research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
So let's look at how loneliness works, how nature can lift it, and some things you can do to encourage that...
Loneliness is not just about physical isolation. A person can be surrounded by others and still feel disconnected.
This happens when people are poorly matched, so they have different values and interests. It can also happen when they simply don't pay attention to each other. This is very common today when people play on their phones instead of with other people. However, that also links back to the previous point: if people find those around them to be boring or dangerous, then finding some other activity than interacting with them makes sense.
Honestly, I don't feel lonely when I am by myself. I'm happy because I can do things I enjoy, including go outside and hang out with nature. I feel lonely when I am with the wrong people. I look at them having a good time and I resent the fact that they get to be with people they like, doing things they enjoy, when I don't.
So in order to solve loneliness by interacting with other people, you need people who are good friend candidates. They should have some common interests with you, enough different things to be interesting, and be reasonably safe.
Researchers often describe two types. Social loneliness comes from lacking a wider network or community.
One huge contributing factor is lack of opportunity. Someone may not be able to travel freely to visit others or attend activities. That runs a very high risk of loneliness. But then there are people who just don't have much in common with most other people -- gifted folks, freaks, anyone with really rare interests, etc. Belonging to an uncommon or disliked group can also make it hard -- people of different religions, queerfolk, etc. It's especially dramatic if you're a really bad fit for the local culture, like being conservative in California or gay in Florida. That's very isolating. Because why go out just to get picked on?
Emotional loneliness reflects the absence of close, meaningful bonds.
To create close bonds, you need someone who is a good candidate, as above; who is willing to create such a connection; and then you need to build trust, intimacy, affection, and reliance over time. Here are some questions to invite intimacy. Do things together to create fun memories.
This distinction matters because not all solutions work the same way. Social events or group activities may help some people, but they do not always address deeper emotional gaps.
In fact, past research shows that simply increasing social interaction does not reliably reduce loneliness.
It's not so much about the event or activity itself as it is the opportunity to meet new people who might become friends, or do something you enjoy with others who enjoy the same thing. However, just the activity can help some extroverts who feel better with lots of people around, even if those aren't close friends. It's introverts who most need deeper friendships, even if they only have a few.
The study highlights two key ideas. The first is connectedness to nature. This refers to a sense of being part of the natural world. It is not just about visiting nature, but feeling linked to it.
It makes sense for humans to feel connected with nature, and fulfilled by such connections. Humans evolved in nature, but now most live in cities. Taking an organism out of its natural habitat tends to cause problems. In humans, that manifests as Nature-Deficit Disorder.
Some things you can do to increase connection with nature:
* Set up birdfeeders and watch the birds eating.
* Provide a water source. Even a container water garden will attract wildlife.
* Grow a garden. Pay attention to what plants attract the most wildlife, then plant more of those. Usually that will be native species, but not always -- my pollinators adore garlic chives and 'Autumn Joy' sedum.
* Keep a nature journal. It doesn't have to be fancy. You don't have to be a great writer or great artist to record what you notice in nature.
* Learn about plants, animals, geography, etc. of your locale. It's exciting to see things in the wild that you read about. Here are some lists of nature books.
* If you have difficulty getting outside as often as you wish, consider supporting a nature organization that shows you what projects they are doing. Mossy Earth is a good example of a global one.
The second is place attachment. This reflects emotional bonds with a specific location. A lake, a trail, or even a familiar park can become meaningful over time.
Modern people, especially in developed nations with a mostly urban population, often have little or no connection to a specific piece of land. If you own a house with even a tiny yard, of course, you can focus on that. Other options include:
* Choose a park or other greenspace near you. Visit it as often as you can. Try to visit at different times of day and in every season of the year. Look for changes in the plants and animals that anchor each moment in a particular time.
* Take pictures of a place and keep a scrapbook about it. See how many different plant or animal species you can find.
* Use all your senses. Touch the tree bark. Smell the flowers. Find a barefoot trail to explore. Look closely at the parts of a flower or ants going into their mound. Listen to the birdsong and try to identify species by ear. Catch a foraging workshop so you can taste edible wild plants.
* Research your local nature organizations and join one. Pay attention to the programs they do and watch for improvements, like planting a butterfly garden or hanging bat houses.
“Strengthening the sense of belonging, not just to other people, but to natural environments and the surroundings, appears to have a protective effect against loneliness,” Hoff said.
This suggests that belonging does not need to come only from other people. It can also come from the world around us.
Honestly, I find nature to be much better company than most humans. Nature accepts everyone for who you are. It doesn't say mean things to you. It has its hazards, but you can learn what those are and how to deal with them. Nature is generally open to forming connections with anyone who's willing to do the work.
The researchers looked at common activities around Lake Mjøsa, such as walking, boating, fishing, and simply spending time by the shore. These activities were linked to lower loneliness, but not directly.
Instead, the effect worked through connectedness to nature and place attachment. In simple terms, people felt less lonely when these activities helped them feel connected to nature or attached to the place.
It's not so much what you do as how you do it. Be present in the moment. Pay attention to the world around you -- that's a safety precaution, not just good mindfulness. Some people find meditation helpful. There are outdoor classes for yoga, writing, art, etc. if you're into that. Turn off your phone unless you have stocked it with nature apps to identify plants, animals, etc. If you have, read the descriptions and field marks instead of just getting an easy answer. Don't just use the phone to play games or check your messages.
Take fishing for example. If you're just fishing for the pot, you might not get much else out of it. But if you learn to think like a fish then you will form a connection with nature, the water, the fish. My grandfather could do that. He'd say, "Welp, the fish are biting today, let's go out to the lake." And the fish would be biting; we'd always catch some. I can still do that without even thinking about it, a certain feel in the air, even though I haven't fished in years.
Interestingly, not all activities had the same impact. Gentle, reflective activities such as walking or enjoying the view showed stronger links to nature connection.
More goal-driven activities, such as exercising, showed weaker links.
You can get exercise doing almost anything outdoors, so focus more on interacting with nature. However, don't rule out things like rock climbing just because they are more physical. If you're hugging a rock for dear life, you are definitely connected with it in a very physical way -- and there's usually a great view to invite moments of awe at the top.
This pattern suggests that how we engage with nature matters more than how often we visit it. Paying attention, noticing details, and appreciating surroundings seem to deepen the experience.
True. Immerse yourself in the environment as much as you can. Appreciate the little things. Much can be learned and enjoyed from looking at small, close things like the lichens on a rock or the patterns of leaves on the ground.
“When you see yourself as part of nature, you create a sense of belonging to a community,” Hoff explained.
Remember that relationships are about a balanced exchange. What do you give to nature? What does it give to you? Push the wheel and it turns around.
One of the most striking findings challenges a common assumption. Activities done alone showed stronger benefits in reducing loneliness.
At first, this sounds contradictory. But solitude is not the same as loneliness. When people spend time alone in nature, they often reflect more deeply.
This reflection may strengthen their sense of connection to the environment.
To gain benefits from solitude, you need a comfortable place to be alone. You also need to enjoy your own company. If the inside of your head is a mess, you may not like being alone. But nature is still good for fixing that. Imagine dumping the crap in your head out onto the ground. Don't worry, soil is designed to break down all kinds of crap and turn it into plants.
“Loneliness and a sense of not belonging are major public health challenges. If natural environments are destroyed or become less accessible, it may be costly for society,” Hoff said.
Society has a lot of work to do to relieve loneliness. Treat travel as a human right, not a paid privilege. Make sure there are lots of free and cheap things to do. Provide abundant greenspace that is available to everyone. A "national" park or "public" land isn't really if people have to pay a fee to use it. Then it belongs to someone else and they're just renting. Make sure that jobs pay enough to live on with no more than 8 hours of work per day, so people have the other 8 hours for rest, 8 hours for what we will. Require family leave from work.
But communing with nature is something that most people can do themselves, without needing to wait for society to pull its head out of its ass.
This has practical implications. Urban planning can include green spaces that invite quiet reflection. Public health programs can encourage mindful engagement with nature, not just outdoor activity.
Simple practices such as noticing sounds, observing patterns, or appreciating scenery can make a difference.
All good advice. Pocket parks are particularly useful. They don't take up much space, but you can fit in a pollinator garden, a rain garden, a bench among fragrant flowers, or several boulders covered in moss and lichens. These places are great for encouraging people to notice little details.
Loneliness is often treated as a social problem. This research shows it is also an environmental one. Human wellbeing depends not only on relationships with others, but also on relationships with places and ecosystems.
Environmental means the built environment as much as the planted one. Are the sidewalks and streets safe to travel? Do the houses have front porches so people can sit out and socialize? Do the apartment buildings have common spaces like a game room, reading room, yoga studio, kitchen and dining hall? Are there parks and public gardens? Is there a meeting hall with a stage for presentations and performances? And so on. A lot of modern society is just downright hostile and puts barriers between people.
Nature does not replace human connection. But it adds another layer to it. And in a world where loneliness is rising, that extra layer may matter more than we once thought.
Sooth.
The results show that everyday activities in nature can shape emotional wellbeing.
“The conclusion is that outdoor activities in natural environments largely have a protective effect against loneliness,” said Sindre Johan Cottis Hoff, a PhD research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
So let's look at how loneliness works, how nature can lift it, and some things you can do to encourage that...
Loneliness is not just about physical isolation. A person can be surrounded by others and still feel disconnected.
This happens when people are poorly matched, so they have different values and interests. It can also happen when they simply don't pay attention to each other. This is very common today when people play on their phones instead of with other people. However, that also links back to the previous point: if people find those around them to be boring or dangerous, then finding some other activity than interacting with them makes sense.
Honestly, I don't feel lonely when I am by myself. I'm happy because I can do things I enjoy, including go outside and hang out with nature. I feel lonely when I am with the wrong people. I look at them having a good time and I resent the fact that they get to be with people they like, doing things they enjoy, when I don't.
So in order to solve loneliness by interacting with other people, you need people who are good friend candidates. They should have some common interests with you, enough different things to be interesting, and be reasonably safe.
Researchers often describe two types. Social loneliness comes from lacking a wider network or community.
One huge contributing factor is lack of opportunity. Someone may not be able to travel freely to visit others or attend activities. That runs a very high risk of loneliness. But then there are people who just don't have much in common with most other people -- gifted folks, freaks, anyone with really rare interests, etc. Belonging to an uncommon or disliked group can also make it hard -- people of different religions, queerfolk, etc. It's especially dramatic if you're a really bad fit for the local culture, like being conservative in California or gay in Florida. That's very isolating. Because why go out just to get picked on?
Emotional loneliness reflects the absence of close, meaningful bonds.
To create close bonds, you need someone who is a good candidate, as above; who is willing to create such a connection; and then you need to build trust, intimacy, affection, and reliance over time. Here are some questions to invite intimacy. Do things together to create fun memories.
This distinction matters because not all solutions work the same way. Social events or group activities may help some people, but they do not always address deeper emotional gaps.
In fact, past research shows that simply increasing social interaction does not reliably reduce loneliness.
It's not so much about the event or activity itself as it is the opportunity to meet new people who might become friends, or do something you enjoy with others who enjoy the same thing. However, just the activity can help some extroverts who feel better with lots of people around, even if those aren't close friends. It's introverts who most need deeper friendships, even if they only have a few.
The study highlights two key ideas. The first is connectedness to nature. This refers to a sense of being part of the natural world. It is not just about visiting nature, but feeling linked to it.
It makes sense for humans to feel connected with nature, and fulfilled by such connections. Humans evolved in nature, but now most live in cities. Taking an organism out of its natural habitat tends to cause problems. In humans, that manifests as Nature-Deficit Disorder.
Some things you can do to increase connection with nature:
* Set up birdfeeders and watch the birds eating.
* Provide a water source. Even a container water garden will attract wildlife.
* Grow a garden. Pay attention to what plants attract the most wildlife, then plant more of those. Usually that will be native species, but not always -- my pollinators adore garlic chives and 'Autumn Joy' sedum.
* Keep a nature journal. It doesn't have to be fancy. You don't have to be a great writer or great artist to record what you notice in nature.
* Learn about plants, animals, geography, etc. of your locale. It's exciting to see things in the wild that you read about. Here are some lists of nature books.
* If you have difficulty getting outside as often as you wish, consider supporting a nature organization that shows you what projects they are doing. Mossy Earth is a good example of a global one.
The second is place attachment. This reflects emotional bonds with a specific location. A lake, a trail, or even a familiar park can become meaningful over time.
Modern people, especially in developed nations with a mostly urban population, often have little or no connection to a specific piece of land. If you own a house with even a tiny yard, of course, you can focus on that. Other options include:
* Choose a park or other greenspace near you. Visit it as often as you can. Try to visit at different times of day and in every season of the year. Look for changes in the plants and animals that anchor each moment in a particular time.
* Take pictures of a place and keep a scrapbook about it. See how many different plant or animal species you can find.
* Use all your senses. Touch the tree bark. Smell the flowers. Find a barefoot trail to explore. Look closely at the parts of a flower or ants going into their mound. Listen to the birdsong and try to identify species by ear. Catch a foraging workshop so you can taste edible wild plants.
* Research your local nature organizations and join one. Pay attention to the programs they do and watch for improvements, like planting a butterfly garden or hanging bat houses.
“Strengthening the sense of belonging, not just to other people, but to natural environments and the surroundings, appears to have a protective effect against loneliness,” Hoff said.
This suggests that belonging does not need to come only from other people. It can also come from the world around us.
Honestly, I find nature to be much better company than most humans. Nature accepts everyone for who you are. It doesn't say mean things to you. It has its hazards, but you can learn what those are and how to deal with them. Nature is generally open to forming connections with anyone who's willing to do the work.
The researchers looked at common activities around Lake Mjøsa, such as walking, boating, fishing, and simply spending time by the shore. These activities were linked to lower loneliness, but not directly.
Instead, the effect worked through connectedness to nature and place attachment. In simple terms, people felt less lonely when these activities helped them feel connected to nature or attached to the place.
It's not so much what you do as how you do it. Be present in the moment. Pay attention to the world around you -- that's a safety precaution, not just good mindfulness. Some people find meditation helpful. There are outdoor classes for yoga, writing, art, etc. if you're into that. Turn off your phone unless you have stocked it with nature apps to identify plants, animals, etc. If you have, read the descriptions and field marks instead of just getting an easy answer. Don't just use the phone to play games or check your messages.
Take fishing for example. If you're just fishing for the pot, you might not get much else out of it. But if you learn to think like a fish then you will form a connection with nature, the water, the fish. My grandfather could do that. He'd say, "Welp, the fish are biting today, let's go out to the lake." And the fish would be biting; we'd always catch some. I can still do that without even thinking about it, a certain feel in the air, even though I haven't fished in years.
Interestingly, not all activities had the same impact. Gentle, reflective activities such as walking or enjoying the view showed stronger links to nature connection.
More goal-driven activities, such as exercising, showed weaker links.
You can get exercise doing almost anything outdoors, so focus more on interacting with nature. However, don't rule out things like rock climbing just because they are more physical. If you're hugging a rock for dear life, you are definitely connected with it in a very physical way -- and there's usually a great view to invite moments of awe at the top.
This pattern suggests that how we engage with nature matters more than how often we visit it. Paying attention, noticing details, and appreciating surroundings seem to deepen the experience.
True. Immerse yourself in the environment as much as you can. Appreciate the little things. Much can be learned and enjoyed from looking at small, close things like the lichens on a rock or the patterns of leaves on the ground.
“When you see yourself as part of nature, you create a sense of belonging to a community,” Hoff explained.
Remember that relationships are about a balanced exchange. What do you give to nature? What does it give to you? Push the wheel and it turns around.
One of the most striking findings challenges a common assumption. Activities done alone showed stronger benefits in reducing loneliness.
At first, this sounds contradictory. But solitude is not the same as loneliness. When people spend time alone in nature, they often reflect more deeply.
This reflection may strengthen their sense of connection to the environment.
To gain benefits from solitude, you need a comfortable place to be alone. You also need to enjoy your own company. If the inside of your head is a mess, you may not like being alone. But nature is still good for fixing that. Imagine dumping the crap in your head out onto the ground. Don't worry, soil is designed to break down all kinds of crap and turn it into plants.
“Loneliness and a sense of not belonging are major public health challenges. If natural environments are destroyed or become less accessible, it may be costly for society,” Hoff said.
Society has a lot of work to do to relieve loneliness. Treat travel as a human right, not a paid privilege. Make sure there are lots of free and cheap things to do. Provide abundant greenspace that is available to everyone. A "national" park or "public" land isn't really if people have to pay a fee to use it. Then it belongs to someone else and they're just renting. Make sure that jobs pay enough to live on with no more than 8 hours of work per day, so people have the other 8 hours for rest, 8 hours for what we will. Require family leave from work.
But communing with nature is something that most people can do themselves, without needing to wait for society to pull its head out of its ass.
This has practical implications. Urban planning can include green spaces that invite quiet reflection. Public health programs can encourage mindful engagement with nature, not just outdoor activity.
Simple practices such as noticing sounds, observing patterns, or appreciating scenery can make a difference.
All good advice. Pocket parks are particularly useful. They don't take up much space, but you can fit in a pollinator garden, a rain garden, a bench among fragrant flowers, or several boulders covered in moss and lichens. These places are great for encouraging people to notice little details.
Loneliness is often treated as a social problem. This research shows it is also an environmental one. Human wellbeing depends not only on relationships with others, but also on relationships with places and ecosystems.
Environmental means the built environment as much as the planted one. Are the sidewalks and streets safe to travel? Do the houses have front porches so people can sit out and socialize? Do the apartment buildings have common spaces like a game room, reading room, yoga studio, kitchen and dining hall? Are there parks and public gardens? Is there a meeting hall with a stage for presentations and performances? And so on. A lot of modern society is just downright hostile and puts barriers between people.
Nature does not replace human connection. But it adds another layer to it. And in a world where loneliness is rising, that extra layer may matter more than we once thought.
Sooth.
