Does built environment and natural leisure settings with bodies of water improve human psychological and physiological health?

Exposure to nature has been linked to improved mental health. This raises an interesting question of whether incorporating natural features, such as bodies of water, into the built environment can also improve mental health. This study determined whether the presence or absence of bodies of water in leisure areas in the natural and built environment impacts people’s direct attention, preference for certain types of landscapes, feelings of restorativeness when in those landscapes, and physiological indicators, such as heart rate and electromyographic readings. The study included 136 participants. The results showed that in their resting state, participants were substantially less physiologically stressed when they were in the presence of bodies of water in natural settings than in their absence in the built environment. However, when the built environment included bodies of water, people’s heart rates were lower when viewing, feeling, and reporting on the atmosphere of these environments. The results showed that people can reduce tension and stress by spending time around bodies of water in the natural areas of leisure settings. Furthermore, natural environments, with or without bodies of water, can help alleviate direct attention fatigue and are preferred to the built environment. However, leisure areas in the built environment that incorporate bodies of water can generate positive emotions. Our study demonstrated that leisure areas with waterscapes in both built and natural environments may enhance physiological and psychological well-being.