Walking in nature decreases state anxiety through pleasure

Abstract

Walking in nature has shown to be a medication-free and cost-effective way to reduce state anxiety. Nature-based walks may also afford a more enjoyable experience than walking in urban environments. Nevertheless, it is currently unclear if walking in nature decreases state anxiety through pleasure. Here, we examine this question by comparing the impact of a forest walk to an urban one (independent variable) on the pleasure experienced by participants during the walk (mediator) and on the pre-and post-walk state anxiety change (dependent variable). Using three sequential steps of mediation analyses, we observed that walking pleasure mediates the effect of the type of walking environment (forest vs. urban) on the pre- and post-walk decrease of state anxiety. This study provides the first empirical evidence for the mediating role of pleasure in the restorative effect of a nature walk on state-anxiety. We further discuss how future studies should examine how pleasure experienced while walking impacts state anxiety change.