https://e360.yale.edu/features/ecopsychology-how-immersion-in-nature-benefits-your-health
It's not new...
In 1865, Olmsted reflected on the role of natural scenery in psychological restoration: it “employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it; tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system” (quoted in: Nash, 2014).
Nash, R.F. (2014). Wilderness and the American Mind, 5th Edn. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 106.
A 2015 study of 2,000 people in the United Kingdom
found that more exposure to nature
translated into more community cohesion
and substantially lower crime rates.
Weinstein, N et al, Seeing Community for the Trees: The Links among Contact with Natural Environments, Community Cohesion, and Crime, BioScience, Volume 65, Issue 12, 01 December 2015, Pages 1141–1153, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biv151
There is evidence for associations between nature exposure and improved cognitive function, brain activity, blood pressure, mental health, physical activity, and sleep.
Cross-sectional observational studies provide evidence of positive associations between nature exposure and increased levels of physical activity and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, and longitudinal observational studies are beginning to assess long-term effects of nature exposure on depression, anxiety, cognitive function, and chronic disease.
Jimenez, M., et al. “Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence.” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 18,9 4790. 30 Apr. 2021, doi:10.3390/ijerph18094790