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By: Naama Barak - February 3, 2021
If you too have been devoting recent lockdowns to home gardening to lift your spirits, you’ll be happy to hear that science is on your side: Recent research shows that for greenery to have tangible benefits for your mood, you need to closely interact with it.
In a study published in Conservation Biology, researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa showed that closeness to nature improves wellbeing more than passive exposure or simply looking at a green landscape.
The researchers surveyed 1,023 visitors at the lush Ramat Hanadiv Memorial Garden and Nature Park in northern Israel. Visitors who had a closer interaction with nature – for example by touching natural elements or smelling flowers – reported more of an enhanced positive effect than people who experienced nature from a greater distance, such as simply strolling the grounds.
The researchers then asked 303 Technion students to spend half an hour outdoors on campus. They were assigned to perform one of nine “cues” such as smelling flowers, taking photographs of nature or turning off their phones.
Read More: Israel 21c