Nature as Medicine: Prescribing Doses of Greenspace Visiting Behaviours to Promote Mental Health Based on Forty Years of Evidence

Nature as Medicine: Prescribing Doses of Greenspace Visiting Behaviours to Promote Mental Health Based on Forty Years of Evidence | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Nature as Medicine: Prescribing Doses of Greenspace Visiting Behaviours to Promote Mental Health Based on Forty Years of Evidence Jiali Li, Peng Gong, Gunter Schumann, Chris Webster, Bin Jiang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9032061/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Greenspace exposure is a low-cost and effective strategy for improving mental health, yet the basic, satisfactory, and optimal doses of exposure behaviours remain unclear. We synthesized 92,430 studies (1980–2025) in a comprehensive meta-analysis. We collected sufficient data for frequency and duration, so analyses focused on these dimensions. We identified a generalized sigmoid, increase–plateau dose–response curves for mental health with both frequency and duration of greenspace exposure. Curve models indicate that frequency and duration significantly affect mental health, with frequency exerting greater effects than duration. Dose recommendations are: Emax value-50% (ED50)—once per week and one hour per week; ED90—four visits per week and four hours per week; ED99—six visits per week and eight hours per week. This is an initial study to find and rationalize a generalized dose–response curve linking greenspace exposure behaviours to mental health benefits. These findings advance theory, guide future research, and offer practical targets to help citizens worldwide adopt a healthier lifestyle. Architecture, Design and Planning Environmental Policy Psychology Contact with nature urban greenspaces mental health dose-response curve Sigmoid function Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9032061","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":600741025,"identity":"ad7e16ed-b959-4a11-adf7-5a5188d4a2b6","order_by":0,"name":"Jiali Li","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9480-9569","institution":"The University of Hong Kong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiali","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":600741026,"identity":"77a77878-5b95-4bc0-a9c3-9b52cc2f6010","order_by":1,"name":"Peng Gong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Hong Kong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Peng","middleName":"","lastName":"Gong","suffix":""},{"id":600741027,"identity":"194d089c-877d-40ad-8c2c-44c5bd61bd6e","order_by":2,"name":"Gunter Schumann","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Fudan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gunter","middleName":"","lastName":"Schumann","suffix":""},{"id":600741028,"identity":"8b6473ed-11c7-484a-b8ec-4c2d13338255","order_by":3,"name":"Chris Webster","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Hong Kong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chris","middleName":"","lastName":"Webster","suffix":""},{"id":600741029,"identity":"dffa43ea-fb65-40af-82f9-f5995766109b","order_by":4,"name":"Bin Jiang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAvElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxmYQ0SDBwC/BBmIkkKBFcgaxWiD6GhgYDG4Qq4W5nfnZw687LPKMb7elSTDuSCPGYWzmxrJnJIrN7hw7JsF4JocYLQxm0pJtEonbbqS3STC2VRCjhf0bWMvmGcRr4TGT/AjUskEiDeiwNqIcxlMmzXhGInHGjbRki8Q2Irxv2H98m+TPHXWJ/TPSDG98bEsmQksDMKB5YLwEwhoYGORBjvtBjMpRMApGwSgYuQAAINI4g9CUh1gAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2440-3157","institution":"The University of Hong Kong","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bin","middleName":"","lastName":"Jiang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-04 15:43:01","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9032061/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9032061/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105035491,"identity":"0e620d9f-48eb-46a0-bf73-0bdf9617432e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 07:26:11","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":941585,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2.Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9032061/v1_covered_e96cb60b-d461-44eb-af71-b944eea5c292.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNature as Medicine: Prescribing Doses of Greenspace Visiting Behaviours to Promote Mental Health Based on Forty Years of Evidence\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Hong Kong","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Contact with nature, urban greenspaces, mental health, dose-response curve, Sigmoid function","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9032061/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9032061/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eGreenspace exposure is a low-cost and effective strategy for improving mental health, yet the basic, satisfactory, and optimal doses of exposure behaviours remain unclear. 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