4 Ways Connecting to Nature Improves Wellbeing for People in Care Homes

From a calming stroll in the garden to the relaxing joy of tending to a flower bed, gardens and outdoor, offer benefits that are both profound and far-reaching. For care home residents, spending time outdoors is more than just a pleasant pastime—it’s a great way to enhance physical health, mental wellbeing, and social interaction.

Here are four ways embracing nature can transform the lives of those in care homes.

1. Boosting Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing

Nature has an incredible ability to soothe the mind, offering a gentle antidote to the stress and emotional challenges many care home residents face. For those dealing with anxiety, depression, or feelings of isolation, outdoor time can be a transformative experience. Being in nature not only breaks up the monotony of indoor routines but also creates a sanctuary where residents can reconnect with themselves and their surroundings.

Reducing Stress and Anxiety

The natural world is uniquely calming. Research has shown that exposure to greenery and fresh air can lower cortisol levels—the hormone associated with stress—helping residents feel more relaxed. The act of simply sitting in a garden, listening to the rustle of leaves or the gentle hum of bees, can help ease an anxious mind. This soothing environment encourages mindfulness, allowing residents to focus on the here and now, rather than dwelling on worries. Over time, this regular connection with the outdoors can improve emotional resilience, making it easier for residents to cope with challenges in their daily lives.

A Haven for Those Living with Dementia

For residents living with dementia, sensory experiences in nature can be especially powerful in enhancing cognitive function. The tactile feel of soil, the familiar scent of lavender, or the sight of butterflies flitting about can trigger positive memories and associations. These sensory cues help ground elderly residents in the present moment, reducing feelings of confusion or agitation. Nature-based activities, such as gardening or feeding birds, provide structured, meaningful engagement that aligns with their abilities, fostering a sense of accomplishment and purpose.

2. Improving Physical Health Using Outdoor Spaces

The physical benefits of spending time outdoors are just as compelling as the mental and emotional advantages. Fresh air and gentle movement in outdoor spaces can significantly enhance residents’ overall physical health and wellbeing, helping them stay active, mobile, and engaged with the world around them.

Maintaining Mobility and Balance

Gentle activities like gardening or walking through well-designed garden paths are excellent ways for residents to maintain mobility and stay physically active. These movements, while low-impact, are incredibly beneficial for maintaining bone health, joint flexibility and muscle strength. Regular movement helps residents retain their mobility, reducing the risk of muscle stiffness or weakness that often accompanies a sedentary lifestyle.

Gardening actions like digging, planting, or pruning not only strengthen motor skills but also improve hand-eye coordination. This contributes to better balance and agility, reducing the likelihood of falls.

Encouraging Regular Movement

Engaging outdoor spaces naturally encourage movement, whether it’s a leisurely stroll along a pathway or reaching out to touch a flower. These small acts of physical activity accumulate over time, promoting cardiovascular health, less blood pressure, enhancing circulation, and even boosting lung capacity through exposure to fresh air.

Walking, especially in a garden designed with wide, flat, and even paths, provides a safe and enjoyable way for residents to exercise. Having benches or shaded resting spots nearby ensures they can pause as needed, making outdoor activities accessible and enjoyable for residents of all abilities.

Promoting Cognitive Health Through Physical Activity

For residents with conditions like dementia, the combination of natural surroundings and gentle movement can have profound therapeutic benefits on cognitive health. Being in a green space or gentle exercise helps reduce agitation, and engaging in physical activities like walking or light gardening can enhance focus and attention. These activities stimulate brain function, improving mood and promoting clearer thinking.

Gardening, for example, is physical exercise that not only keeps the body active but also engages the mind through purposeful tasks like choosing which plants to water or arranging flowers. These activities can provide a structured sense of achievement while stimulating cognitive pathways that support memory and focus.

3. Encouraging Social Interaction and Stimulation

Outdoor spaces in care homes are much more than places to relax—they are vibrant hubs of community and connection, offering residents opportunities to build relationships, share experiences, and engage their senses. The natural setting of a garden or outdoor area creates a welcoming and nurturing environment for meaningful interactions that can transform residents' social lives.

Fostering a Sense of Togetherness

Gardens provide a perfect backdrop for group activities that bring residents, staff, and even families together. Events like garden parties, BBQs, or afternoon teas on the lawn encourage residents to step outside, mingle, and participate in shared experiences. These occasions create a lively atmosphere where laughter and conversation flow easily, fostering a sense of camaraderie and belonging.

Group planting sessions or seasonal decorating projects, such as planting flowers, also encourage teamwork, giving residents a common goal to work towards. Whether planting colourful flowers in spring or adding festive touches in winter, these activities promote collaboration and a sense of achievement.

Combating Loneliness and Isolation

For many care home residents, loneliness can be a significant challenge. Outdoor spaces offer an ideal setting to combat isolation, providing an inviting and non-threatening environment where residents can connect with others. Sharing stories while sitting on a bench or chatting during a gentle garden walk can spark new friendships and deepen existing social bonds.

These interactions are particularly valuable for residents who may find indoor communal spaces overwhelming or intimidating. The more open and relaxed atmosphere of a garden helps ease social anxiety, making it easier for residents to connect with others at their own pace. For visiting families, gardens provide a peaceful and enjoyable space to spend quality time with their loved ones. These settings often feel less restrictive than indoor environments, allowing for more natural and relaxed interactions.

4. Promoting Freedom and Autonomy

A well-designed garden can provide a sanctuary of independence for care home residents, offering them opportunities to make choices, explore at their own pace, and engage with the environment in ways that suit their abilities and preferences. These moments of autonomy are crucial in maintaining a sense of dignity and control over their lives.

Encouraging Independence Through Design

Thoughtfully planned outdoor spaces are key to empowering residents to enjoy the garden without barriers. Features like wide, flat paths ensure that residents using wheelchairs, walkers, or other mobility aids can navigate the outdoor space with confidence. Raised flower beds bring gardening within reach for those with limited mobility, allowing for active participation in planting, pruning, and nurturing without the physical strain of bending or kneeling.

Sensory plants, such as fragrant herbs, soft grasses, and vibrant flowers, are not only beautiful but also accessible to residents with visual or mobility impairments. These features invite interaction, and sensory stimulation and allowing everyone to engage with the garden in their own unique way.

Fostering a Sense of Freedom

Outdoor spaces allow residents to take control of their activities and interactions. They can choose to stroll along a winding path, sit quietly and observe the natural surroundings, or get their hands dirty in a flower bed. This freedom to decide how to spend their time fosters a sense of agency that is often diminished in care settings, where routines organised activities are typically structured.

By creating an environment that supports individual choice, care homes empower residents to express their preferences, reinforcing their independence and boosting their self-esteem.

Providing Opportunities for Solitude or Interaction

For many residents, having the freedom to seek solitude is as important as opportunities for socialisation. A well-designed garden offers quiet nooks or shaded benches where individuals can enjoy peaceful moments alone, reflecting or simply soaking in the sights and sounds of nature.

At the same time, these spaces also provide the option for interaction. Residents can choose when and how they engage with others, whether by joining a gardening group or pausing for a chat with a fellow resident on a shared path. This ability to toggle between solitude and social connection gives residents a greater sense of control over their daily experiences.

Rekindling a Sense of Purpose

Gardening activities provide residents with opportunities to engage in meaningful tasks that align with their abilities and interests. Tending to plants, caring for garden features, or simply observing and documenting seasonal changes can give residents a renewed sense of purpose. These tasks remind them that their actions matter and that they are still capable of contributing to their environment.

Empowering Residents with Mobility Challenges

For residents with limited mobility, outdoor spaces designed with their needs in mind can be transformative. Accessible features in green spaces, such as smooth paths with handrails or resting spots at regular intervals, make it possible for everyone to participate in garden activities. These inclusive designs ensure that no one is excluded from the freedom and enjoyment that outdoor spaces provide.

The Importance of nature for people in care homes

For residents at Kingsacre Care Home, garden spaces aren’t just a part of the landscape—they’re part of their lives in our beautiful semi-rural home. By integrating accessible, engaging outdoor spaces into everyday routines, we can ensure that residents experience the full mental health benefits of fresh air, an accessible garden, and the therapeutic touch of nature. If you'd like to find out more about the importance of connecting with nature for people in care homes and how we facilitate nature therapy at Kingsacre Care Home in Clydebank then please get in touch.