TL;DR
Turn quiet afternoons into listening time
- Thousands of audiobooks, podcasts and originals
- Listen on your phone, tablet or Echo — also offline
- Cancel anytime
A randomized trial involving 320 lonely older adults in Barcelona found lower loneliness scores after both group nature activities and access to activities participants could do alone. Average reductions were still present one year later, though the study does not establish that the approach will work equally well for everyone or in every setting.
A randomized controlled trial of 320 lonely older adults in Barcelona found that nature-based activities were followed by lower loneliness scores, with average reductions still recorded one year later. The study compared facilitated group activities such as gardening and birdwatching with access to similar activities people could do on their own, and found improvement in both groups.
The Barcelona trial enrolled adults from 12 low-income neighborhoods. Half were assigned to groups of eight to 10 people, meeting for two hours a week over nine weeks with two trained facilitators. Activities included gardening, birdwatching and nature-based art. The other participants received the same menu of free, accessible activities to pursue independently.
According to the study report, participants’ loneliness scores fell by an average of 11% at three months, 12% at six months and 17% at one year. These are average changes across the study groups; the reported figures do not mean every participant experienced the same benefit. Both approaches showed improvement, while group participation worked better among participants who began with lower emotional wellbeing.
The findings were published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe as part of the RECETAS project, which examines nature-based social prescribing. The research tested an approach in which clinicians or health services connect people with community activities, rather than relying only on treatment delivered in medical settings.
A Community Option for Loneliness
The results suggest that organized activities in nearby natural spaces could give health and community services another way to support people experiencing loneliness. The fact that both group and independent options were associated with lower scores may be relevant for people with different preferences, mobility, confidence or access to social settings. The study does not establish which format is best for all participants.
Loneliness is a person’s subjective sense that their relationships do not match what they want; it is not the same as simply being physically alone. The report describes links between chronic loneliness and health concerns including cardiovascular disease, depression and anxiety. Those associations make it a public-health concern, but this trial tested loneliness outcomes, not whether the activities prevent or treat those conditions.
The intervention also points to a practical question for public agencies: whether health systems can connect patients with accessible local programs and sustain them. The researchers say the model could help make use of existing urban green spaces, but wider delivery would depend on local programs, staffing, funding and evidence from other populations.
Products Worth Considering
Philips Hue Festavia 130-Foot Indoor/Outdoor Smart String Lights, 500 LEDs
Samsung 48-Inch S90H OLED 4K Smart TV (2026)
Samsung 42-Inch Class OLED S90F 4K Smart TV (2025)
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The Barcelona research is part of RECETAS—Re-imagining Environments for Connection and Engagement—a project launched in 2021 with a €5.6 million European Union grant, according to the source report. The project has conducted randomized trials in Barcelona, Prague and Helsinki, alongside quasi-experimental studies in Marseille, Cuenca and Melbourne. The figures described here are from the Barcelona trial, not a combined result across all six cities.
The trial’s corresponding author, Jill Litt, a professor of environmental health at the University of Colorado Boulder and researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, said evidence for nature-based prescriptions had previously been limited. She described the Barcelona findings as randomized-trial evidence that benefits can persist. That interpretation refers to the study’s measured outcomes and follow-up; it does not establish a universal effect.
The source report says Spanish public health agencies have begun recognizing the Friends in Nature model as a best practice for addressing loneliness. Litt is also working to bring similar trials to the United States. Whether U.S. insurers would cover community garden memberships or birdwatching groups remains a future possibility, not a current outcome of the Barcelona study.
“There has been a lot of passion about nature-based prescriptions, but not a lot of evidence.”
— Jill Litt, corresponding author and professor of environmental health at the University of Colorado Boulder
Limits of the Barcelona Findings
The reported results concern 320 older adults in Barcelona recruited from low-income neighborhoods. The source material does not provide detailed information on participant demographics, the precise loneliness scale, confidence intervals, or the proportion who completed each follow-up. It also does not establish how the approach would perform among younger adults, in rural areas, or in health systems with different community resources.
Both study groups received access to nature-based activities, so the reported reductions do not by themselves show how those activities compare with no intervention or with another form of social support. The source summary also does not give enough information to judge the relative contribution of time outdoors, facilitator support, group contact or other parts of the program. The finding that group work performed better among people with lower initial emotional wellbeing needs more detail before it can guide individual care.
The study reports changes in loneliness scores, not proof that the intervention prevents disease, reduces healthcare use or produces the same lasting effect for every participant. Further results from the broader RECETAS project may help clarify whether similar outcomes appear in other cities and populations.
Further Trials and U.S. Plans
The RECETAS project has trials and studies in several cities, and results from those sites can help show whether the Barcelona pattern is repeated in other settings. Litt is working to bring similar trials to the United States, according to the report. No U.S. trial timeline or insurer coverage decision was provided.
For wider adoption, public health agencies and health providers would need to determine how referrals work, which local activities are accessible, and how programs can be supported over time. The Barcelona study offers evidence for further testing, but the source material does not describe a finalized national rollout or a change in clinical guidance.
Key Questions
What did the Barcelona study find?
Among 320 lonely older adults, average loneliness scores were lower after participants were offered facilitated group nature activities or access to activities they could do alone. The report gives average reductions of 11% at three months, 12% at six months and 17% at one year.
Did group activities work better than doing activities alone?
Both approaches were associated with improvement. The report says the group intervention worked better for participants who started with lower emotional wellbeing, but it does not provide enough detail to conclude that groups are better for everyone.
What is nature-based social prescribing?
It is an approach that connects people through health or community services with activities such as gardening, hiking or birdwatching. In the Barcelona trial, activities included gardening, birdwatching and nature-based art.
Does the study prove nature activities prevent health conditions?
No. The trial reported changes in loneliness scores. It does not prove that the activities prevent or treat cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety or other health conditions.
Will health insurers cover these activities?
The report says researcher Jill Litt hopes future U.S. programs could include insurance coverage for options such as community garden memberships or birdwatching clubs. It reports no current coverage decision or U.S. rollout.
Source: rss
