The '120 Minutes a Week' Nature Finding
A large England-wide survey found that people who spent at least two hours a week in nature reported better health and wellbeing than those who spent none — with no extra benefit clearly emerging beyond that.
Study title: The '120 Minutes a Week' Nature Finding — White MP, Alcock I, Grellier J, Wheeler BW, Hartig T, Warber SL, Bone A, Depledge MH, Fleming LE, Scientific Reports, 2019
- Study type
- Cross-sectional study
- Population
- 19,806 adults in England, Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment Survey, 2014/15–2015/16
- Published
- 2019
- Evidence confidence
- Moderate confidence
The short version
In a large England survey, people getting at least 120 minutes a week in nature reported better health and wellbeing than those getting none.
Why it matters
There may be a broad weekly threshold of time in nature associated with feeling and functioning better, but 120 minutes is a population pattern from one country's survey, not a clinically validated dose for any individual.
01
The question
02
How it was studied
03
What they found
04
Limitations
05
What it may mean
In real life
If a single long weekend walk feels like your only option, this data suggests accumulated shorter visits across the week were associated with a similar benefit to one long one.
Try this
Rather than planning one big outdoor outing, try tracking whether you can accumulate around 20 minutes outside on most days this week and notice how the week feels by the end.
Evidence confidence
Moderate confidence
A large, carefully analysed single survey with a notable, widely replicated-in-spirit finding, but it remains one cross-sectional dataset from one country rather than a converging body of causal evidence.
Source
White MP, Alcock I, Grellier J, Wheeler BW, Hartig T, Warber SL, Bone A, Depledge MH, Fleming LE (2019). The '120 Minutes a Week' Nature Finding. Scientific Reports.
Peer-reviewed · Free full text available · Last reviewed 2026-08-14
Read the original research →One study isn't the whole storyOne study gives us a piece of the picture. Selfey looks for patterns across the broader evidence rather than treating a single finding as a rule.
Read this in everyday terms
The Walk That Isn't About StepsSelfey research briefs are educational summaries, not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Research describes patterns across groups; it cannot tell you what is right for your situation.
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