The Rela ionship be ween Pe cei ed Heal h and
Physical Ac i i y Indoo s, Ou doo s in Buil
En i onmen s, and Ou doo s in Na u e
Ty i P. Pasanen*
Uni e si y o Tampe e, Finland
Liisa Ty äinen
Finnish Fo es Resea ch Ins i u e Me la, Finland
Kale i M. Ko pela
Uni e si y o Tampe e, Finland
Backg ound: A body o e idence shows ha bo h physical ac i i y and exposu e
o na u e a e connec ed o imp o ed gene al and men al heal h. Expe imen al
s udies ha e consis en ly ound sho e m posi i e e ec s o physical ac i i y in
na u e compa ed wi h buil en i onmen s. This s udy explo es whe he hese
bene i s a e also e iden in e e yday li e, pe cei ed o e epea ed con ac wi h
na u e. The opic is impo an om he pe spec i es o ci y planning, indi idual
well-being, and public heal h. Me hods: Na ional su ey da a (n=2,070) om
Finland was analysed using s uc u al eg ession analyses. Pe cei ed gene al
heal h, emo ional well-being, and sleep quali y we e eg essed on he weekly
equency o physical ac i i y indoo s, ou doo s in buil en i onmen s, and in
na u e. Socioeconomic ac o s and o he plausible con ounde s we e con olled
o . Resul s: Emo ional well-being showed he mos consis en posi i e connec-
ion o physical ac i i y in na u e, whe eas gene al heal h was posi i ely asso-
cia ed wi h physical ac i i y in bo h buil and na u al ou doo se ings. Be e
sleep quali y was weakly connec ed o equen physical ac i i y in na u e, bu
he connec ion was ou weighed by o he ac o s. Conclusion: The esul s indi-
ca e ha na u e p o ides an added alue o he known bene i s o physical
ac i i y. Repea ed exe cise in na u e is, in pa icula , connec ed o be e emo-
ional well-being.
Keywo ds: Finland, men al heal h, na u al en i onmen , physical ac i i y,
sleep, well-being
* Add ess o co espondence: Ty i Pasanen, School o Social Sciences and Humani ies,
Kale an ie 5, 33014 Uni e si y o Tampe e, Tampe e, Finland. Email: [email p o ec ed]
bs_bs_banne
APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, 2014, 6(3), 324–346
doi:10.1111/aphw.12031
© 2014 The Au ho s. Applied Psychology: Heal h and Well-Being published by John Wiley &
Sons L d on behal o The In e na ional Associa ion o Applied Psychology.
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-
NonComme cial-NoDe i s License, which pe mi s use and dis ibu ion in any medium,
p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, he use is non-comme cial and no modi ica ions o
adap a ions a e made.
INTRODUCTION
Being exposed o na u e, whe he i be iewing pic u es o na u al landscapes
o physical ac i i y (PA) in he wild, has been ound o ha e nume ous heal h
bene i s. P e ious epidemiological s udies ha e ound posi i e co ela ions
be ween neighbou hood g eene y and long e m heal h indica o s such
as mo bidi y and longe i y (Maas e al., 2009; Takano, Nakamu a, &
Wa anabe, 2002). Expe imen al s udies ha e ocused on he sho e m posi-
i e e ec s o being exposed o g een en i onmen s, such as changes in mood
and physiological s ess measu es (see o example, Ha ig, E ans, Jamne ,
Da is, & Gä ling, 2003; Lee, Pa k, Tsune sugu, Kagawa, & Miyazaki, 2009;
P e y, Peacock, Sellens, & G i in, 2005). These bene i s ha e been gene ally
explained by in olun a y a en ion eco e y (A en ion Res o a ion Theo y,
ART; Kaplan, 1995) and s ess educ ion on psychological and physiological
le els (Ul ich, 1983; Ul ich e al., 1991; see Beu e & de Ko , 2014, o a
ecen e iew).
Epidemiological s udies ha e explo ed he co ela ion be ween g een space
indica o s and imp o ed well-being. The ela ionship has been es ablished o
a a ie y o measu es o neighbou hood g eene y, such as p oximi y, pe -
cei ed quali y, and he ex en o he g eene y (de Jong, Albin, Skä bäck,
G ahn, & Bjö k, 2012; S igsdo e e al., 2010; an Dillen, de V ies,
G oenewegen, & Sp eeuwenbe g, 2012; Van He zele & de V ies, 2012; Wa d
Thompson & Aspinall, 2011). Plausible mechanisms behind his ela ion
include inc eased le els o PA (My on, Townsend, Ru e , & Fos e , 2012),
educed s ess, and social cohesion (de V ies, an Dillen, G oenewegen, &
Sp eeuwenbe g, 2013). In e es ingly, a ecen epidemiological s udy ound
ha g een exe cise, bu no he o al amoun o PA, media ed he connec ion
be ween g een space p oximi y and well-being (de V ies e al., 2013). By
encou aging he abo e-men ioned heal hy beha iou pa icula ly in dep i ed
popula ions, exposu e o g een space has been ound o balance socioeco-
nomic heal h inequali ies (Mi chell & Popham, 2008; Wa d Thompson &
Aspinall, 2011).
The s ong posi i e connec ion be ween PA and gene al and men al heal h
has been widely accep ed in p e ious esea ch (Fox, 1999; Penedo & Dahn,
2005; S ephens, 1988). Whe he exe cising in na u e, as opposed o o he
en i onmen s, p o ides added alue o hese bene icial e ec s has been he
p ima y in e es in many ecen expe imen al s udies. A me a-analysis by
Bowle , Buyung-Ali, Knigh , and Pullin (2010) ou lined ha exe cising in a
na u al en i onmen , a he han in buil en i onmen s indoo s o ou doo s,
educes nega i e emo ions and imp o es a en ion, while physical measu es
(blood p essu e and co isol concen a ion) had no shown sys ema ic di e -
ences in he s udies hey e iewed. Mo e speci ically, he imp o emen s in
mood and sel -es eem a e expe ienced wi hin i e minu es o exposu e
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(Ba on & P e y, 2010). A sys ema ic e iew by Thompson Coon e al.
(2011) summa ised ha he bene i s ollowing exe cise ou doo s, compa ed
wi h simila ac i i ies indoo s, include inc eased ene gy and eelings o e i-
alisa ion, as well as dec eases in ension, con usion, ange , and dep ession.
The ollowing sec ions p o ide empi ical e idence showing he po en ial
e ec s o exposu e o na u e on s ess and a en ion es o a ion, and he
consequen implica ions on well-being and heal h. We conclude he in oduc-
ion by p esen ing he ou line and hypo hesis o he p esen s udy.
Exposu e o Na u e and Men al Well-Being
Maas e al. (2009) ound an in e se ela ionship be ween li ing less han one
kilome e away om g een space, and dep ession and anxie y diso de s.
The e is also e idence ha he p opo ion o g eene y in he neighbou hood
is connec ed o inc eased happiness (Van He zele & de V ies, 2012), educed
men al dis ess (Whi e, Alcock, Wheele , & Depledge, 2013), and educed
s ess on subjec i e and objec i e le els (Wa d Thompson e al., 2012). Simi-
la ly, he quan i y o g een a eas, as well as he quan i y and quali y o
s ee scape g eene y, has been ela ed o be e men al heal h ( an Dillen
e al., 2012). Being ac i e ou doo s has been associa ed wi h enhanced men al
well-being: he elde ly showed ewe dep essi e symp oms he mo e ime hey
spen ou doo s and being physically ac i e (Ke e al., 2012), while a s udy in
Sco land es ima ed ha each addi ional weekly use o na u al en i onmen
lowe s he isk o poo men al heal h by 6 pe cen (Mi chell, 2013). Simila ly,
a me a-analysis by Ba on and P e y (2010) ound ha hose wi h men al
illnesses bene i ed sys ema ically om exposu e o na u e mo e han o he s.
On he o he hand, in a popula ion-based su ey s udy, a posi i e measu e o
men al well-being exhibi ed a s onge posi i e connec ion o he use o
non-na u al en i onmen s han o na u e (Mi chell, 2013).
Exposu e o Na u e and Gene al Heal h
Good heal h has been associa ed wi h p oximi y o he nea es g een space
(S igsdo e e al., 2010) and he p opo ion o g eene y in he su ounding
en i onmen (Maas, Ve heij, G oenewegen, de V ies, & Sp eeuwenbe g,
2006). Howe e , he la e associa ion has ecen ly been ques ioned (de Jong
e al., 2012; Van He zele & de V ies, 2012). In e es ingly, al hough de Jong
e al. (2012) did no ind a signi ican ela ionship be ween objec i e measu es
o neighbou hood g eene y ( ia GIS) and pe cei ed heal h, heal h co e-
la ed posi i ely wi h pe cei ed g eene y. The la e esul was also weakly
suppo ed by a s udy by Wa d Thompson and Aspinall (2011). Besides
quan i y, be e obse ed quali y o he g een a eas and s ee s o he neigh-
bou hood ha e also shown a ela ion o highe pe cei ed gene al heal h (Van
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Dillen e al., 2012). On an epidemiological le el, li ing close o g een elemen s
has been connec ed o longe i y (Takano e al., 2002) and dec eased mo al-
i y a es (Mi chell & Popham, 2008).
Exposu e o Na u e and Sleep Quali y
An epidemiological s udy in Aus alia ound ha people who li e close o less
g een a eas a e mo e likely o sleep ewe hou s pe nigh (As ell-Bu , Feng,
& Kol , 2013). Apa om his s udy, he opic has ecei ed li le esea ch
a en ion, al hough i has high ele ance o public heal h. In Finland, o
example, equen insomnia- ela ed symp oms a e p e alen in 10 pe cen o
men and 14 pe cen o women (Lallukka e al., 2012). Noc u nal awakening
has been ela ed o dec eased quali y o li e (Vää äinen e al., 2013). Being in
na u e is likely o in ol e exposu e o na u al ligh and physical exe cise, bo h
o which ha e been ound o ha e independen associa ions wi h sleep quali y
(D i e & Taylo , 2000). Simila ly, a s udy on he elde ly indica ed ha
noc u nal sleep quali y is associa ed wi h being ac i e du ing he day as well
as exposu e o na u alis ic ligh (Hood, B uck, & Kennedy, 2004). The e i-
dence on he heal h e ec s o ligh exposu e on sleep is cu en ly mo e
ex ensi e han he e idence ega ding exposu e o na u e and sleep (Beu e &
de Ko , 2014). As exposu e o na u e and o dayligh o en coincides, hei
associa ed heal h bene i s a e likely o o e lap (Beu e & de Ko , 2014).
The P esen S udy
In line wi h he abo e s udies, we hypo hesise ha he well-being bene i s o
PA di e be ween ac i i ies ha occu in na u e, indoo s, and in buil
ou doo en i onmen s. We assume ha a en ion and s ess es o a ion,
shown in p e ious expe imen al and epidemiological s udies, p oduces long-
e m heal h and well-being bene i s in an e e yday con ex o e epea ed
con ac s wi h na u e. Two o ou ou comes, emo ional well-being and pe -
cei ed gene al heal h, ha e al eady been widely s udied, whe eas he hi d,
sleep quali y, has no been p e iously explo ed in his con ex .
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Da a Collec ion
Ou da a we e collec ed in wo ounds (wi h a andom sample o 4,000 people
pe ound) in he win e and sp ing o 2009. Thus, he na u al en i onmen s
on which he esponses a e based include g een, aqua ic (“blue”), and snow-
co e ed (“whi e”) na u e a eas. The su ey was pa o he na ionwide
Ou doo Rec ea ion Demand In en o y (LVVI2), conduc ed by he Finnish
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Fo es Resea ch Ins i u e, and i consis ed o six su ey ounds al oge he
wi h pa ly a ying hemes. In he i s wo su ey ounds, analysed in his
s udy, 3,060 Finnish esponden s ( esponse a e 38%), aged 15–74 yea s,
comple ed and e u ned he ques ionnai e. When hey we e ini ially con-
ac ed, a le e was sen o each esponden wi h a link o an online ques ion-
nai e, pe sonal use name and passwo d, along wi h a b ochu e abou he
s udy in gene al. The second eminde (o h ee), in addi ion, included a
pape copy o he ques ionnai e.
The esponden s ep esen ed he o iginal sample ai ly well al hough
women we e o e ep esen ed ela i e o men by 3.4 pe cen age poin s, and
he younge age g oups we e unde ep esen ed (15- o 24-yea -olds by 4.9
pe cen age poin s and 25- o 44-yea -olds by 3.1 pe cen age poin s) ela i e o
he olde age g oups (45- o 64-yea -olds o e ep esen ed by 5.1 pe cen age
poin s and 65- o 75-yea -olds by 2.9 pe cen age poin s; o iginal igu es om
Vi anen, Nybe g, Salonen, Neu onen, & Sie änen, 2011). To inspec he
alidi y o he LVVI2 su ey se ies, a phone su ey o a andom sample o
he non- esponden s in he inal su ey ound (n=301) was conduc ed
(Vi anen e al., 2011).
Pa icipa ion in he su ey was olun a y and based on in o med consen ;
i did no expose he esponden s o any ha m, and he esponden s we e
gi en all he necessa y in o ma ion ega ding he s udy. The e o e, acco ding
o he Finnish Ad iso y Boa d on Resea ch In eg i y, an e hical e iew o he
s udy was no equi ed (h p://www. enk. i/en/).
Measu es
Ou comes. Emo ional well-being was measu ed by i e s a emen s ha
comp ise he Emo ional Well-Being subscale in he RAND 36-i em heal h
su ey 1.0 (Hays, She bou ne, & Mazel, 1993; alida ed in Finland by Aal o,
A o, & Tepe i, 1999; see Appendix 1, in he Supplemen a y Da a, o he
comple e i ems o he scale). The i ems we e measu ed on a 6-poin Like
scale anging om “All o he ime” (1) o “No a all” (6). In he analyses, i
necessa y, he ou comes we e in e ed so ha highe alues indica ed be e
well-being. Pe cei ed gene al heal h was in es iga ed wi h a single ques ion
ph ased, “In gene al, would you say you heal h is”: wi h he op ions “good”
(1), “ ai ly good” (2), “a e age” (3), “ ai ly poo ” (4) and “poo ” (5). Assess-
ing pe cei ed gene al heal h by a single i em is a widely acknowledged p ac-
ice in heal h esea ch (Idle & Benyamini, 1997; Miilunpalo, Vuo i, Oja,
Pasanen, & U ponen, 1997). Likewise, sleep quali y was in es iga ed wi h a
single ques ion asking how o en in he pas ou weeks he esponden s had
expe ienced sleep p oblems o poo sleep quali y, wi h he same op ions as
he i ems o he emo ional well-being scale. A comp ehensi e and widely used
sleep assessmen scale, he Pi sbu gh Sleep Quali y Index (PSQI; Buysse,
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Reynolds, Monk, Be man, & Kup e , 1989), also assesses sleep quali y in he
pas ou weeks by a single i em, and he i em has shown he highes co e-
la ion wi h he o e all sco e o he same index (Ca pen e & And ykowski,
1998).
Physical Ac i i y. The PA measu es we e quan i ied by me ging wo
a iables, one es ima ing he weekly equency o PA and he o he eco ding
he loca ions whe e he PA akes place. Rega ding he loca ions o PA, he
esponden s we e ins uc ed o es ima e he p opo ions o hei spa e ime
PA ha ake place in se en ypes o en i onmen (wi h examples in b acke s).
These en i onmen s we e g ouped in o h ee ca ego ies o he pu poses o
his s udy. Indoo spo s se ings (such as indoo spo s hall, gym, o swim-
ming pool) and indoo s a home (such as hea y housewo k o home gym-
nas ics) we e classi ied in he g oup indoo s.Ou doo s in a buil se ing (such
as s ee s, cycle lanes, o spo s ields) o med i s own ca ego y. Ou doo s
a ound home (such as ga dening, clea ing he snow, o ball games) was
excluded om he analysis because i could e e o bo h na u al and buil
se ings. The inal ca ego y, na u e, included he na u al en i onmen nea
home (such as nea by o es s o u ban pa ks), he na u al en i onmen
a ound one’s second home, and he na u al en i onmen elsewhe e. Rega d-
ing he weekly equency o PA, he esponden s we e ins uc ed o only
conside ac i e bou s ha las ed a leas 20 minu es (a common measu e in
p e ious Finnish popula ion s udies; o example, Pel onen e al., 2008),
du ing which hey b ea hed mo e hea ily and b oke in o a swea (excluding
walking, cycling, unning, e c. as pa o hei no mal daily ac i i ies).
Finally, he measu es in he analyses we e ob ained by mul iplying he
weekly equency o PA by he p opo ions aking place in each ype o
se ing. Fo example, i he esponden claimed o exe cise wice a week, 50
pe cen o he ime indoo s and 50 pe cen in na u e, he new a iables PA
indoo s and PA in na u e would bo h be equal o 2 ×0.5 =1.
An es ima e o how ac i e he esponden had been in he pas ou weeks,
indica ing he in ensi y o PA, was de i ed om a a iable gene al ac i i y.
The ins umen , adap ed om he widely used scale “Sel - epo ed Physical
Ac i i y”, de eloped by Sal in and G imby (1968), has been ound o ha e
s onge connec ions o men al heal h han an objec i e measu e o physical
i ness (Lindwall, Ljung, Hadžibaj amo ic´, & Jonsdo i , 2012). The measu e
consis s o ou esponse ca ego ies ha depic he esponden ’s ac i i y and
exe ion le el (see Appendix 1, Supplemen a y Da a).
Co a ia es. The i s demog aphic co a ia e was gende . Wi hin he
Finnish popula ion, gende has no shown a ela ionship o pe cei ed heal h
(Kallio, 2006) o emo ional well-being (Aal o e al., 1999). Con e sely, sleep
p oblems a e mo e common in emales (Lallukka e al., 2012; Ohayon &
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Pa inen, 2002), wi h he excep ion o sleep apnoea, which is mo e p e alen
in men (K onholm e al., 2009). The second demog aphic co a ia e, age, has
been ound o co ela e nega i ely wi h pe cei ed heal h (in Finland, Aal o
e al., 1999) and sleep quali y (D i e & Taylo , 2000) bu no wi h men al
heal h (Aal o e al., 1999). The e is addi ional e idence ha di e en age
g oups espond di e en ly o exposu e o na u e (Ba on & P e y, 2010;
Maas e al., 2009). Low le els o he hi d co a ia e, mon hly household
income, ha e been associa ed wi h lowe emo ional well-being (Lahelma,
Laaksonen, Ma ikainen, Rahkonen, & Sa lio-Läh eenko a, 2006) and
sleeping ewe hou s pe nigh (Lallukka e al., 2012) in Finland. In gene al,
subjec i e socioeconomic s a us and pe cei ed heal h co ela e posi i ely
(Kallio, 2006). Epidemiological s udies ha e ound ewe income- ela ed
heal h inequali ies in he g eene neighbou hoods (Maas e al., 2009; Mi chell
& Popham, 2008). The ou h demog aphic co a ia e, household size, was
added o con ol o he bias i could cause in income.
In addi ion, we es ed o al e na i e explana ions o he well-being meas-
u es, as sugges ed by Spec o and B annick (2011). Recen unusual e en s
migh a ec well-being; his was conside ed by asking he esponden s
whe he hey had been going h ough an excep ional si ua ion in li e in he
p e ious ou weeks, and i he phase had been easie o mo e di icul han
usual. Pe manen o long e m illnesses o disabili ies may a ec physical and
men al unc ioning, so we enqui ed whe he he esponden s had long e m
disabili ies ha impede hei physical ac i i ies ou doo s. To conside any
o he less pe manen disad an ages in li e he esponden s may expe ience,
such as lack o ime o acili ies, we asked whe he hey had been able o
exe cise ou doo s as much as hey had wished (cons ain s) in he p e ious 12
mon hs. Finally, season (win e o sp ing) a ec s na u al ligh exposu e
which may cause luc ua ions in sleep quali y (Hood e al., 2004), impac
emo ional well-being (G aw, Recke , Sand, K äuchi, & Wi z-Jus ice, 1999),
and al e exe cise ou ines (Tucke & Gilliland, 2007).
S a is ical Analysis
The e we e in o al 28 (0.9%) esponden s ha had a long e m illness o
disabili y ha p e en ed hem om going ou doo s, and hey we e excluded
om he analyses. In addi ion, mul i a ia e ou lie s, e alua ed by
Mahalanobis dis ances, we e de ec ed and excluded om he da a i e a i ely
ollowing he guidelines o Tabachnick and Fidell (2007). Only he mos
dis inguishable ex eme cases we e excluded each ime, and a e each exclu-
sion, he Mahalanobis dis ances we e e-calcula ed and e-inspec ed. The
exclusion o ou lie s was comple e when he la ges Mahalanobis alue was
close o he selec ed c i ical alue (based on he χ2dis ibu ion wi h d =
“numbe o a iables” −1) and he no mal p obabili y plo ceased o ha e a
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dis inguishable ail a he la ge end. A e he exclusion, he co ela ions
we e e-examined and compa ed o he p e- il e ed da a.
Fo he main analyses, all a iables we e inco po a ed in o s uc u al
eg ession models using Mplus e sion 7. The main eason o choosing a
s uc u al model was i s abili y o con ol o he co a iance be ween inde-
penden a iables as well as he heal h measu es. Emo ional well-being was
speci ied as a la en ac o wi h i e o dinal indica o s, and gene al heal h and
sleep quali y we e ea ed as la en single indica o ac o s. We used he
ecommended app oach in he model building whe e he models o in e es
a e es ed immedia ely wi hou a p eceding measu emen model o he la en
cons uc s (Hayduk & Glase , 2000). As all obse ed ou come a iables we e
o dinal, a no mal ans o ma ion was pe o med and a diagonally weigh ed
leas squa es (WLSMV) es ima o was used (Mu hén & Mu hén, 1998–2012).
Independen a iables we e added in he cons uc ed models in ou main
s eps ha we e speci ied ollowing he sugges ions o Spec o and B annick
(2011). The au ho s ecommend i s examining he ela ionships ha a e
heo e ically expec ed, a e which o he easible al e na i es should be
es ed. The i s s ep consis ed o PA indoo s, in buil ou doo en i onmen s,
and in na u e eg essing on emo ional well-being, gene al heal h, and sleep
quali y. In he second s ep, a measu e o he in ensi y o ac i i y was added. In
he hi d s ep, we added he co a ia es. I a co a ia e was no signi ican in
mos analyses, ei he he insigni ican pa hs o he co a ia e i sel was dele ed
om he ollowing models. The ou h and he inal s ep included al e na i e
explana ions o he heal h ou comes.
The SEM models we e e alua ed wi h he χ2 es and he ela ed i indices
a ailable in he WLSMV es ima ion. The Ben le compa a i e i index (CFI)
measu es how a he speci ied model is om he baseline model wi h no
connec ions (Rayko & Ma coulides, 2011), and he gene al guidelines a e
0.95 o close i , whe eas less han 0.90 is conside ed unaccep able (Hu &
Ben le , 1999; Yu, 2002). As o he oo mean-squa e e o o app oxima ion
(RMSEA), he maximum accep able alue a ies be ween 0.05 and 0.08
(B owne & Cudeck, 1992; Hu & Ben le , 1999). In addi ion, we compa ed he
obse ed ou come alues wi h he p obabili ies ha hei model-es ima ed
alue is co ec .
RESULTS
Uni a ia e and Bi a ia e Dis ibu ions
All ou comes had a skewed dis ibu ion, wi h he a e age esponses
app oaching highe a he han lowe alues o well-being (see Table 1 o all
obse ed dis ibu ions). The emo ional well-being scale, o which compa a-
i e popula ion igu es we e eadily a ailable, was dis ibu ed wi h he same
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median (80) as he na ional no ms, al hough in ou sample, mean alue was
sligh ly g ea e (78 e sus 74) and s anda d de ia ion smalle (15 e sus 20)
han he a ailable popula ion alues (Aal o e al., 1999).
Rega ding bi a ia e dis ibu ions, all independen a iables had a signi i-
can co ela ion coe icien (p<.05) wi h a leas one o he h ee well-being
measu es (Table 2; see Appendix 2a o co ela ions wi hin he independen
a iables and Appendix 2b, in he Supplemen a y Da a, o co ela ions
wi hin he ou comes). Some o he signi ican co ela ions we e small in
magni ude which is common in many esea ch ields, including applied
TABLE 1
Dis ibu ions o he Obse ed Va iables (n= 2,070)
Va iable Scale o ange Mean (SD)o %
Emo ional well-being (C onbach’s
α=0.846)
0–100 (summa y sco e) 77.6 (15.4)
Pe cei ed gene al heal h Good (1)–Poo (5) 2.0 (0.93)
Poo sleep quali y o sleep p oblems All o he ime (1)–No a
all (6)
4.8 (1.16)
Gende (%) Male 44.4
Female 55.6
Age 15–74 yea s 45.2 (14.8)
Household size 1–8 people 2.5 (1.2)
Mon hly household incomea(%) €1,000 o less 5.9
€1,001–3,000 32.6
€3,001–5,000 31.7
€5,001–7,000 19.2
€7,001–9,000 6.1
Mo e han €9,000 4.4
Long e m disabili y (%) None 82.9
Yes, bu can s ill exe cise
ou doo s
17.1
Excep ional si ua ion in li e in he
pas 4 weeks (%)
Mo e s ess ul han usual 27.3
No excep ional 64.6
Easie han usual 8.1
Cons ain s on ou doo exe cise in he
pas 12 mon hs (%)
None 55.6
Some 44.4
Gene al ac i i y in he pas ou
weeks (%)
Inac i e 14.2
Mode a e ac i i y 53.0
Vigo ous ac i i y 30.9
Compe i i e spo s 1.9
Weekly equency o PA by loca ion
(max 5 imes)
Indoo s 0.7 (0.8)
Ou doo s (buil ) 0.5 (0.7)
In na u e 0.9 (0.9)
Season Win e 51.9
Sp ing 48.1
asho ened scale, in he analysis we used 11 ca ego ies.
332 PASANEN ET AL.
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Sons L d on behal o The In e na ional Associa ion o Applied Psychology
(Sie änen & Neu onen, 2011), he esul s a e no likely o ha e been a ec ed
by inequali ies in access o na u al acili ies.
Finally, he e a e some al e na i e explana ions o he esul s ha we e
no conside ed in he analyses. Fi s , no in o ma ion on he nea by g eene y
o he esponden s’ li ing en i onmen s was a ailable. Nea by g eene y may,
o ins ance, encou age engagemen in physical ac i i ies (My on e al.,
2012) and impac sleep quali y h ough ligh pollu ion and noise. Second, we
do no know whe he he a e age du a ion o exe cise indoo s, ou doo s in
buil se ings, and in na u e a ies. I isi s o he na u al en i onmen s end
o las longe , he inc eased amoun o physical ac i i y and exposu e o
na u al ligh could, a leas pa ly, explain he s ong ela ionship be ween
exe cise in na u e and well-being. Thi d, he b oad ca ego isa ion in o
indoo , buil ou doo , and na u al en i onmen s igno ed he quali a i e di -
e ences wi hin he en i onmen s in he same ca ego y. Di e en ypes o
na u al en i onmen s may induce di e en es o a i e e ec s (Ko pela, Ylén,
Ty äinen, & Sil ennoinen, 2010; Ty äinen e al., 2014) and he e o e, he
de ec ed associa ions may no apply o all na u al en i onmen s.
Validi y o he Me hods and Resul s
Mos o ou measu es a e s anda d in esea ch p ac ice in heal h sciences and
ga e us no eason o suspec hei alidi y o eliabili y. Measu es ha
necessi a e some discussion a e he es ima ion o he amoun and in ensi y
o PA. Compa ed wi h con olled expe imen s, a sel - epo ques ionnai e
ine i ably p o ides less accu a e measu es o PA. None heless, es ima ing
one’s ac i i ies in weekly in e als was conside ed su icien ly easy o he
esponden s o es ima e. Ano he p oblem wi h he measu e was ha i
assumed ha PA in di e en ypes o se ings is some hing one does in a
gene ally consis en way om week o week, which migh no be he case and,
consequen ly, may bias he es ima e. Ou measu e o he gene al in ensi y o
PA, howe e , has p e iously been shown o be a s onge connec ion o men al
heal h han an objec i e measu e o ae obic i ness (Lindwall e al., 2012).
Ne e heless, we conside ou es ima es o equency and in ensi y o PA
capable o a leas clea ly dis inguishing he mos ac i e om hose who
exe cise only occasionally.
Based on he RMSEA and he CFI, ou models 2–4 i he da a well. The ac
ha he CFIs somewha wo sened and he RMSEAs imp o ed as new inde-
penden a iables we e added is a common phenomenon (Kenny & McCoach,
2003). The χ2 alues, on he con a y, we e a om he ideal. We deduced
h ee easons o he ailu e o his es . Fi s , he χ2 es is known o be oo
sensi i e when sample sizes a e la ge (N>300; Kline, 2011). The RMSEA, a
simila measu e ha is less sensi i e o sample size, suppo ed mos o he
es ed models. Second, he models be e explained posi i e a he han
PERCEIVED HEALTH AND ACTIVITY IN NATURE 339
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Sons L d on behal o The In e na ional Associa ion o Applied Psychology

nega i e emo ional well-being and sleep quali y, esul ing in some la ge esid-
uals ha e iden ly in luenced he χ2 alue. Thi d, he la ges esiduals be ween
he obse ed and es ima ed co ela ions appea ed be ween he i ems o he
RAND-36. Had we cons ained some o hei esidual a iances, he i could
ha e been a i icially imp o ed, bu we ound i heo e ically unjus i iable.
Conclusions
This s udy p o ides a new ype o su ey e idence suppo ing he heo ies on
heal h-enhancing e ec s o con ac wi h na u e by sugges ing ha epea ed
exe cise in na u e is ela ed o imp o ed long e m well-being mo e explici ly
han epea ed exe cise in buil en i onmen s indoo s o ou doo s. Good
emo ional well-being, in pa icula , seems o be e iden ly associa ed wi h
mo e equen , ac i e isi s o na u al en i onmen s. Mo eo e , pe cei ed
gene al heal h appea s o be connec ed o PA bo h in na u e and in buil
ou doo se ings. The e idence on sleep quali y, on he o he hand, was
weake in his s udy. Mo e esea ch is needed o be e unde s and he
connec ion be ween exposu e o na u e and sleep. Whe he his ela ionship
is, o example, media ed by imp o ed psychological well-being o neigh-
bou hood quali ies is wo hy o u he examina ion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many hanks go o Tuija Sie änen, Ma jo Neu onen, Miisa Pie ilä, and Ann
Ojala o he Finnish Fo es Resea ch Ins i u e (Me la) o hei con ibu ions
o he p ojec . This wo k was suppo ed by he Academy o Finland (p ojec
numbe 2501255431) and he Finnish Minis y o Educa ion and Cul u e,
and he Minis y o he En i onmen (g an numbe YTA022).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
None.
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Addi ional Suppo ing In o ma ion may be ound in he online e sion o
his a icle a he publishe ’s web-si e:
Appendix 1. Scale o emo ional well-being (RAND-36 subscale; Hays
e al., 1992), Scale o gene al ac i i y (adap ed om Sal in & G imby,
1968).
PERCEIVED HEALTH AND ACTIVITY IN NATURE 345
© 2014 The Au ho s. Applied Psychology: Heal h and Well-Being published by John Wiley &
Sons L d on behal o The In e na ional Associa ion o Applied Psychology
Appendix 2a. Co ela ions be ween he obse ed independen a iables
(Spea man i one o bo h o he a iable pai a e o dinal, Pea son in i alics),
n=2070.
Appendix 2b. Spea man co ela ions be ween he ou come a iables (emo-
ional well-being as he summa y sco e o he i e RAND-36 i ems), n=2070.
Appendix 3a. Diag am o model 1. χ2=405, d =25, p<0.0001, CFI =0.97,
RMSEA =0.09. Only signi ican (p<0.05) connec ions a e shown (a ows).
The eg ession coe icien s be ween independen and dependen a iables a e
p o ided in Table 3.
Appendix 3b. Diag am o model 2. χ2=388, d =29, p<0.0001, CFI =0.97,
RMSEA =0.08. Only signi ican (p<0.05) connec ions a e shown (a ows).
The dashed a ow ep esen s a nega i e connec ion. The eg ession coe i-
cien s be ween independen and dependen a iables a e p o ided in Table 3.
Appendix 3c. Diag am o model 3. χ2=463, d =43, p<0.0001, CFI =0.97,
RMSEA =0.07. Only signi ican (p<0.05) connec ions a e shown (a ows).
The dashed a ow ep esen s a nega i e connec ion. The eg ession coe i-
cien s be ween independen and dependen a iables a e p o ided in Table 3.
346 PASANEN ET AL.
© 2014 The Au ho s. Applied Psychology: Heal h and Well-Being published by John Wiley &
Sons L d on behal o The In e na ional Associa ion o Applied Psychology