Nature connectedness as a potential pathway to positive mental wellbeing
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Even though most of the study participants rated nature as very important at baseline, taking part in the Nature-group further strengthened this feeling. Experiencing interconnection with nature increases the motivation to protect and defend it, and the improved connection with nature also increases happiness and wellbeing (Contact with nature appears to be important to human health, since living close to green space has an inverse association with all-cause mortality, especially mortality due to cardiovascular disease (The restorative capacity of nature is commonly explained by (a) the stress recovery theory, which underlines that contact with nature promotes a positively toned mental state and activates the parasympathetic nervous system (High perceived stress increases reliance on primary care service (There is a knowledge gap regarding what role contact with nature has on an individual level, as personal preferences and cultural values influence how we experience nature and how willing we are to interconnect with it (