More green space equals less stress for the unemployed - study

STRESS levels experienced by unemployed people are linked more to their surroundings than their disposable income or degree of deprivation, a study has shown.

The Scottish research suggested that the presence of parks and woodlands in deprived areas could help people cope with job losses, post traumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue and anxiety.

They found that an individual’s stress level was directly related to the amount of green space in their area – the more green space, the less stressed a person is likely to be.

Researchers measured stress by taking saliva samples from a group of 35-55 year olds in Dundee and gauging levels of cortisol – a hormone released in response to stress.

The researchers from Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities found that if less than 30 per cent of a person’s surrounding area was green space, its population showed unhealthy levels of cortisol.

The findings have been published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning.