Studies A picturesque landscape has a positive effect on our health

Scenic picturesque place of residence has a positive effect on the health
Many people feel healthier living in a scenic area. This was the finding of researchers from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. In their study, scientists found that a picturesque landscape has a positive impact on human health. The results of their work were published by the medical profession in the renowned scientific journal "Scientific Reports"..

For the purpose of the study, humans had the opportunity to rate more than 212,000 images of areas in the UK. This information was collected and collected on a website. Here the participants could classify individual pictures on a scale of one to ten. Where a one for "not sexy" and the ten for "very picturesque / sexy" was. In order to establish a connection between the landscape and the feeling of improved health, the researchers analyzed the data of the population from the respective regions on their health perception. They used the 2011 Census data for England and Wales, where participants rated their overall health as "very good" and "very poor".

High ratings also for pictures without many green areas
The results showed that people living in a very quaint or charming area tend to feel healthier. Much of Britain's scenic areas, such as the Lake District, are home to many plants, trees and green spaces. But even landscapes without much green can be very picturesque. Thus, a high rating is also possible in areas that do not have large amounts of green space, the researchers said. Scientist Chanuki Seresinhe, co-author of the study, explained that just because a place has a lot of landscaped areas does not necessarily mean we feel better or healthier.

It seems as if all the beauty of the environment is vital. The best rated pictures do not have the highest percentage of green. Instead, very scenic images often show high levels of gray, brown and blue. Less attractive pictures mostly consisted of predominantly gray, black or white shades. Interestingly enough, some of these unattractive photos contained more green than the most scenic images, researchers from the University of Warwick added.

Results important for future city planning
Not only the landscape, but many other factors influence whether a person feels healthy. For example, the income and type of employment have an impact on human health. Also the air pollution in the examined areas had to be considered.

All these data were included in the analysis, the researchers report. The new results obtained are very interesting for the future of urban planning. The beauty of our everyday environment probably has a much greater significance for our sense of health than previously thought, explains the scientist Seresinhe in the medical journal "Scientific Reports". So it was important that in the future, the overall aesthetics of the environment is taken into account in order to improve the well-being of city dwellers. City planners and decision-makers should be aware of when they start large-scale construction projects and, for example, build new parks, housing estates or highways.

The results of the study make it clear that planting green areas alone is not sufficient. It is more important to consider the beauty of the environment as a whole and to create a scenic overall aesthetics, the researchers added to the study.