A recent study suggests that living near abundant green spaces isn’t enough, relatively, frequent visits to such spaces bring down using certain pharmaceuticals.

The study, published within the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, found that visiting green spaces like parks and gardens is linked to less use of medicine for conditions similar to anxiety, insomnia, depression, hypertension, and asthma.

Led by researchers from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Tampere University in Finland, and the University of Eastern Finland, the study analyzed data from around 6,000 Helsinki residents.

“Exposure to natural environments is regarded as helpful for human health, however the evidence is inconsistent,” researchers wrote within the paper.

Data from the participants was collected on the variety of medications that were consumed, the variety of “green and blue” spaces visible from home, times people checked out those views, and the time they spent there or exercised in them.

Three or 4 visits per week, compared with one visit per week, were linked with 33% lower odds of using mental health meds, 36% of blood pressure meds, and 26% of asthma meds, the study found. Unbelievably, there was a drop within the above figures by 22%, 41%, and 24%, respectively, for no less than five visits per week, ScienceAlert reported.

“This finding is according to tentative evidence emphasizing the importance of actual use of green space in relation to mental health, and it suggests that the identical holds true for other health conditions, similar to asthma and hypertension,” the researchers noted.

The work here doesn’t establish a cause-and-effect relationship. Nevertheless, the study does display that the aspect of green spaces and health is value exploring further.

Furthermore, the outcomes of the study highlight the importance of access to green spaces.

“Mounting scientific evidence supporting the health advantages of nature exposure is more likely to increase the availability of high-quality green spaces in urban environments and promote their energetic use,” the researchers wrote. “This may be one strategy to improve health and welfare in cities.”

One other study found that watching and listening to birds could be helpful for mental health. And for his or her study, the researchers focused on a side that they said, “has captivated humans over the centuries and yet has received little or no scientific attention: birdlife.”

“On a regular basis encounters with birdlife were related to time-lasting improvements in mental well-being,” the researchers wrote, adding, “These improvements were evident not only in healthy people but additionally in those with a diagnosis of depression, probably the most common mental illness internationally.”