Can Nature Heal Inflammation?

Ong, Cintron, and Fuligni link pleasant time spent in nature to lower inflammation levels: “Leveraging survey and biomarker data from 1,244 adults (mean age = 54.50 years, range = 34–84 years) from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS II) study, we examined associations between nature engagement, operationalized as the frequency of pleasant nature encounters, and systemic inflammation. Concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and fibrinogen were measured from fasting blood samples. Analyses adjusted for sociodemographic, health behavior, and psychological well-being covariates. . . . More frequent positive nature contact was independently associated with lower circulating levels of inflammation. . . . More frequent positive contact with nature was related to lower systemic inflammation, even after adjusting for a wide range of health and demographic covariates.”
Anthony Ong, Dakota Cintron, and Gabriel Fuligni. 2024. “Engagement with Nature and Proinflammatory Biology.” Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, vol. 119, pp. 51-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2024.03.043