How National Parks Improve Your Health and Well-Being

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Parks protect some of the country's most treasured landscapes, historic sites, battlefields, cityscapes and seascapes. Increasingly, they are also understood as a health resource for the public. The NPS Wellness Challenge uses what makes each park special for physical, mental and learning activities. Here is how parks help.

1. They get you moving

Exploring, sightseeing and learning history all keep you active — whether you walk, roll, run, hike or bike, slowly or at a heart-pumping pace.

Even a little more activity makes a big difference — and exercising outdoors in nature ("green exercise") benefits health more than exercising indoors. More: CDC's Active People, Healthy Nation.

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2. They put you in nature

Nature does you good through sight, sound, smell and touch. Choose places where you feel comfortable and safe, and plan around the landscapes you enjoy.

One study found that spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and well-being.

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3. They invite mindfulness

Everyday distractions are harder and harder to escape. Being present in a park can make you happier and less stressed: find a quiet spot, focus on your breathing or on what you sense — the grass, the flowers, the river — and journal it.

• Body: lower blood pressure, better sleep, pain management.
• Mind: less anxiety and depression, better quality of life.

More: NIH News in Health on mindfulness.

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4. They bring people together

Time with friends and family — or new acquaintances — makes us happier and more satisfied. Invite someone along, or talk with a ranger or fellow visitor.

• Body: pain management, lower risk of diabetes, more independence with age.
• Mind: better memory, lower dementia risk, more life satisfaction and quality of life, less stress, less loneliness and isolation.

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5. They spark curiosity and lifelong learning

Parks preserve some of the nation's most important history and culture. Learning there — new knowledge, new perspectives, new skills — keeps the brain working:

• better brain function and memory; less age-related decline and lower dementia risk;
• more self-confidence and self-efficacy, and the well-being of learning with others.

Curious people are happier.

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6. They build empathy

Learning the stories and experiences of many peoples strengthens your ability to imagine what someone else thinks and feels — improving your connections and your own well-being: less stress, better emotional control, a stronger sense of connection.

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More on the power of parks for health: Healthy Parks Healthy People.

Sources

Based on "Improve Your Health and Wellness at National Parks," Healthy Parks Healthy People, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The article draws on the American Heart Association (2022); CDC; T. Hartig et al., "Nature and Health," Annual Review of Public Health (2014); P. James et al. (2015); M. Kuo (2015); M. Laal (2012); M. Cohut (2018); E. Segal (2018); and M. P. White et al., "Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing," Scientific Reports (2019).