Benefits of Outdoor Walks in Reducing Depressive Symptoms

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether outdoor walking in different environments-urban or natural-can reduce depressive symptoms among college students. The study also tests whether providing prompts for active engagement during nature walks enhances the benefits compared to unstructured nature walks.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) urban walk, (2) nature walk, or (3) active nature walk with guided interaction. Each participant will walk for 30 minutes, twice a week, for 3 weeks, complete questionnaires, and participate in interviews.

Our primary outcome (PHQ-9) will be used to test the following two primary hypotheses:

* Hypothesis 1: Participants in both nature walk conditions (combined) will show greater reductions in depressive symptoms (PHQ-9) than those in the urban walk group.
* Hypothesis 2: Participants in the active nature walk will show greater reductions than those in the regular nature walk.

Conditions

• Depressive Symptoms

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Urban Walk

For each session, participants will take a 30-minute walk in an urban environment along a designated looped route. They will walk at a comfortable pace and follow the assigned path. During the walk, participants will be instructed to experience their surroundings as naturally as possible. No specific activities beyond walking are required. To fully immerse in the experience, participants will be asked to avoid using their phones unless necessary (e.g., in case of an emergency). They should keep the GPS app recording throughout the walk without interacting with it-just allow it to run in the background. Once the loop is completed, participants will stop the GPS recording and return to the starting point, where a research team member will be waiting. They will then be guided indoors to complete a brief post-walk survey and participate in a short interview to share their experience.

BEHAVIORAL

Nature Walk

For each session, participants will take a 30-minute walk in a natural environment along a designated looped route. They will walk at a comfortable pace and follow the assigned path. During the walk, participants will be instructed to experience their surroundings as naturally as possible. No specific activities beyond walking are required. To fully immerse in the experience, participants will be asked to avoid using their phones unless necessary (e.g., in case of an emergency). They should keep the Gaia GPS app recording throughout the walk without interacting with it-just allow it to run in the background. Once the loop is completed, participants will stop the GPS recording and return to the starting point, where a research team member will be waiting. They will then be guided indoors to complete a brief post-walk survey and participate in a short interview to share their experience.

BEHAVIORAL

Active Nature Walk

For each session, participants will take a 30-minute walk in a natural area, following a designated looped route. Unlike a regular walk, participants will be encouraged to engage with nature (e.g., listening to natural sounds, looking for birds, and touching flowers). To make the most of the walk, participants will be asked to avoid using their phones unless necessary (e.g., in case of an emergency). They should keep the Gaia GPS app recording throughout the walk without interacting with it-just letting it run in the background. Once the loop is completed, participants will stop the GPS recording and return to the starting point, where a research team member will be waiting. They will then be guided indoors to complete a brief post-walk survey and participate in a short interview to share their experience.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Washington

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Xuanyi Wang · University of Washington

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-04-11

Primary Completion

2025-12-17

Completion

2025-12-27

Countries

• United States

Study Locations