Living Near Trees May Improve Your Heart Health

A new study suggests a no-frills way to be healthier: Live near trees. That's the takeaway from a years-long study out of the University of Louisville, reports NBC News. Specifically, study participants who lived in "greened" areas of city neighborhoods saw a decrease in a blood marker for inflammation associated with heart disease and other chronic issues, according to a university news release.

• The study: Researchers planted over 8,000 trees (mostly evergreens) and large shrubs between 2019 and 2022 in different parts of Louisville, across a four-mile area, per the Northern Kentucky Tribune. The approximately 750 participants in the study ranged in age from 25 to 75 and came from mid- to low-income households. Each provided health data and blood and urine samples to the researchers so they could measure before-and-after results. Those in "greened" neighborhoods were compared with those in adjacent neighborhoods where no trees were planted.

• The results: Participants who lived in the areas with more trees saw a 13% drop in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, an inflammation biomarker associated with heart disease. This level of improvement is comparable to starting a regular exercise routine, says the university's Aruni Bhatnagar, who led the study. "Although several previous studies have found an association between living in areas of high surrounding greenness and health, this is the first study to show that a deliberate increase in greenness in the neighborhood can improve health," he adds.
• Factors: Among other things, trees might mitigate the "urban heat effect" that raises temperatures in city neighborhoods—reducing the risk of heat stroke—and they might help buffer noise, which also has been linked to poorer health, say the researchers.
• What's next: In August, Green Heart received $4.6 million in additional funding to continue research over the next five years. Per NBC, the project plans to gather more data by planting trees in the control group neighborhoods, and also study whether tree cover encourages more outdoor play in children, and how that may affect sleep and immune health. "There is no sort of ultimate proof," Bhatnagar tells NBC. "But this is the strongest evidence of any study that's ever been done on trees and their relationship to health."

(Your heart may thank you for paying back your "sleep debt.")