Background: Literature suggests that compared to exercising indoors, physical activity in natural surroundings (“green” exercise) is particularly effective at boosting hedonic well-being (see Geddes & Passmore, 2022 for review). With increased urbanization and declining access to nature, simply noticing nearby nature while exercising may be a pathway for individuals to experience the benefits of green exercise in their own neighbourhoods.

Aims: We aimed to test the efficacy of a new 3-week well-being program which merged daily walking with awareness activities.

Method: Adult community participants from Belgium and Luxembourg (N = 211, M_age = 48.63) were randomly assigned to one of two walking-awareness conditions, which entailed taking a daily 10-minute walk from their front door, or to continue with their regular routine (waitlist-control). Walking-awareness participants received daily instructions detailing what to focus on during their 10-minute walk. Participants randomly assigned to the nature-awareness condition were asked to focus on aspects of the natural environment (e.g., sights, sounds, textures, how it made them feel), while those assigned to the anthropogenic-awareness condition were asked to focus on these same aspects but of human-built origin. Pre- and post measures were administered.

Results: At study conclusion, participants in the walking nature-awareness condition reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and vitality compared to those in the waitlist control condition (ds = 0.39, 0.44) and compared to those in the walking anthropogenic-awareness condition (ds = 0.43, 0.49). Levels of life satisfaction and vitality were not significantly different between participants in the walking anthropogenic-awareness condition and those in the waitlist-control condition (ds = 0.04, 0.12). All analyses controlled for the amount of nature within a 10-minute walking radius of participants’ homes.

Conclusion: The pathway to well-being does appear to be 10 minutes from your doorstep, IF you notice the sights, sounds, colours, and textures of nearby nature.