BREATHE in – simply SMELLING nature can make people feel healthier, researchers say.
Going into the woods and sniffing their earthy smell makes people feel more relaxed and joyful, according to scientists.
Nature is known to play a role in promoting human health and wellbeing, shown especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet previous research has been limited in investigating which attributes of nature – smells, sounds or colours – affect human wellbeing and why.
Now, experts say smells – for example rotting leaves in winter – are key because they often jog people’s memories, linking them back to pleasant childhood experiences.
Researchers from the University of Kent’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) sent 194 people into woodland during the four seasons, in February, April, June and October 2019.
During each workshop, participants visited Sherwood Forest in Nottingham in the morning and the National Trust’s Clumber Park, also in Notts, in the afternoon.
Upon arrival, they were told that they would be taking part in a woodland scavenger hunt and were invited to “look around and notice different elements of the woodland” and write down what they saw in terms of colours, textures, sounds, shapes, and smells.
