Previous research has investigated associations between psychedelic experiences and meditation practice, but knowledge gaps remain. Using a longitudinal research design with a sample of US residents between 18 and 50 years old (N = 13,012), we investigated associations between psychedelic-related and meditation-related variables. The follow-up survey was completed by 7484 respondents, of whom 336 reported psychedelic use during the two-month study. In covariate-adjusted regression models, psychedelic use was associated with greater increases in the number of days of mindfulness and loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice in the past week, especially among those with no prior experience of psychedelics or meditation. Among those who reported psychedelic use, trait mindfulness and trait self-compassion at baseline were associated with less severe challenging psychedelic experiences, as well as lower odds of psychedelic-occasioned thoughts or attempts of self- or other-harm. However, among those who practiced meditation at baseline, psychedelic use was associated with greater increases in past-week frequency of loving-kindness or compassion meditation-related difficulties and impairments. Future research is warranted.

Non-technical summary. This study addresses the challenge of climate change by exploring how psychological qualities and meditation practices may influence pro-environmental behavior among decision-makers, by surveying 185 participants. The research found that meditation practices and compassion toward others are linked to more pro-environmental actions. Nature connectedness emerged as a key factor related to enhanced mindfulness, compassion toward others and self, and environmental efforts. Additionally, pro-environmental efforts at work were related to more engagement across the organization, including management. These findings highlight the potential of integrating personal growth practices into sustainability promoting strategies, suggesting that fostering compassion and mindfulness may support pro-environmental action.

Technical summary. Current policy approaches addressing climate change have been insufficient. Integrative approaches linking inner and outer factors of behavior change, both at the private and organizational level, have been called for. The aim of the present study was thus to conceptualize and test a model of interlinkages between trainable transformative psychological qualities, meditation practice, wellbeing, stress, and pro-environmental behaviors in the private and organizational context, among decision-makers (N = 185) who responded to a survey of self-completion measures covering the topics above. Results show that meditation practices and longer practice duration were associated with more pro-environmental behavior, mindfulness facets, and wellbeing. Mindfulness facets and self-compassion were associated with higher wellbeing and lower stress, but not pro-environmental behavior. Importantly, higher compassion toward others was associated with more pro-environmental behavior but was not associated with own wellbeing and stress. Greater nature connectedness was associated with more pro-environmental behavior in private- and work life, mindfulness facets, compassion toward others, self-compassion, and longer meditation duration. Furthermore, at work, personal pro-environmental efforts were associated with such efforts by others in the organization, including management, and such efforts were also associated with overall integration of sustainability work in the organization. The results can help guide future interventions.

Social media summary. Nature connectedness, compassion toward others, and meditation related to private and work life pro-environmental behaviors.

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions posed challenges to people’s private and work lives. This included a rapid shift from on-site to remote work for many working adults in Sweden and internationally, and limited opportunities for indoor social and leisure activities. This involved risks for increased loneliness and social isolation, particularly among those mainly working remotely. In this context, nature visits may mitigate loneliness. This study adds to existing research in investigating whether a higher degree of remote work during COVID-19 was related to increased loneliness and whether nature visits mitigated loneliness, especially for those who mainly worked remotely. Subject and methods: The sample comprised a subsample of respondents to the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health 2020 (n = 984). Nature-related habits (NRH) were measured using self-reported frequency of visits to various natural environments. The effect of remote work, NRH, and time on loneliness (before – during COVID-19) was analyzed using linear mixed models while controlling for confounders. Results: Loneliness levels during COVID-19 were highest and increased the most compared to before the pandemic among individuals with the greatest degree of working remotely. Engaging daily in NRH was associated with lower loneliness levels, particularly among individuals mostly working remotely. This was observed in a three-way interaction effect between remote work, NRH, and time on loneliness. Conclusion: Daily nature visits may protect against loneliness during and beyond crises like COVID-19, particularly for those mainly working remotely. Policies preserving and facilitating access to nature may promote resilience during and beyond crises like COVID-19.

Aims Spending time in natural environments has been linked to mental health benefits, and may have been an important resilience factor during the COVID-19 pandemic, but longitudinal studies are limited. This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the development of nature-related habits and their relationship to different mental health outcomes before and during early and later phases of COVID-19 (2019–2022). Furthermore, the buffering potential of nature-related habits on effects of major life events on mental health outcomes was investigated.

Subject and methods A subsample of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) was studied during 2018–2022, including follow-ups in early 2021 (n  = 1902) and 2022 (n = 1580). Visits to various types of nature, mental health outcomes (symptoms of depression, anxiety, loneliness, sleep difficulties), and major life events were analyzed across the study period while controlling for confounders.

Results Greater overall engagement in nature visits, particularly visiting forests or using one’s garden, was associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and sleep problems in early 2021 and 2022.

Importantly, changes in nature visits were consistently negatively associated with investigated mental health outcomes across the study period. All nature visits, except for garden time, increased in the long term (2019–2022). Visiting forests also increased in the short term, while overall nature visits initially decreased (2019–2020).

Conclusion Generally, nature visits increased longitudinally and were associated with better mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This underscores the importance of green- and blue-space accessibility for facilitating outdoor recreation in natural environments, to support resilience and public health during pandemics.

Background: Previous research has proposed that there may be potential synergies between psychedelic and meditation interventions, but there are still knowledge gaps that merit further investigation. Methods: Using a longitudinal observational research design with samples representative of the US and UK adult population with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (N = 9732), we investigated potential associations between self-reported psychedelic use and meditation practice. Results: The follow-up survey was completed by 7667 respondents (79% retention rate), with 100 respondents reporting psychedelic use during the 2-month study period (1.3% of follow-up respondents). In covariate-adjusted regression models, psychedelic use during the study period was associated with greater increases in the number of days of mindfulness meditation practice in the past week (B = 0.40, p = 0.004). Among those who reported psychedelic use during the study period, covariate-adjusted regression models revealed that the subjective experience of insight during respondents' most intense psychedelic experience in that period was also associated with greater increases in the number of days of mindfulness and loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice in the past week (B = 0.42, p = 0.021; B = 0.38, p = 0.017). Notably, more days of loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice in the past week at baseline was associated with less severe subjective feelings of death or dying during respondents' most intense psychedelic experience in the study period (B = -0.29, p = 0.037). Conclusions: Psychedelic use might lead to greater engagement with meditation practices such as mindfulness meditation, while meditation practices such as loving-kindness or compassion medication might buffer against certain challenging experiences associated with psychedelic use.

It has long been speculated that psychedelic use could provoke the onset of psychosis, but there is little evidence to support this conjecture. Using a longitudinal research design with samples representative of the US and UK adult populations with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (n = 9732), we investigated associations between psychedelic use and change in the number of psychotic symptoms during the two-month study period. In covariate-adjusted regression models, psychedelic use during the study period was not associated with a change in the number of psychotic symptoms unless it interacted with a personal or family history of bipolar disorder, in which case the number of symptoms increased, or with a personal (but not family) history of psychotic disorders, in which case the number of symptoms decreased. Taken together, these findings indicate that psychedelic use may affect psychotic symptoms in individuals with a personal or family history of certain disorders characterized by psychotic symptomatology.

Background: Whereas findings from case reports and cross-sectional studies suggest that naturalistic psychedelic use may be associated with unusual visual experiences that occur after the acute pharmacological effects have subsided, such findings need to be replicated in longitudinal studies to better understand potential cause-and-effect relationships.

Aims: To investigate longitudinal associations between naturalistic psychedelic use and unusual visual experiences.

Methods: Using a longitudinal observational research design with samples representative of the US and UK adult populations with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (N = 9732), we investigated the relationship between psychedelic use during the 2-month study period and changes in past-week unusual visual experiences.

Results: The follow-up survey was completed by 79% of respondents (n = 7667), with 100 respondents reporting psychedelic use during the 2-month study period (1.3% of those who responded at follow-up). In covariate-adjusted regression models, the results showed that, as hypothesized, psychedelic use during the 2-month study period was associated with greater increases in unusual visual experiences. Notably, there was an interaction between lifetime psychedelic use and psychedelic use during the study period on unusual visual experiences such that those who used psychedelics for the first time reported greater increases in unusual visual experiences.

Conclusions: Psychedelic use may elicit unusual visual experiences that occur after the acute pharmacological effects have subsided, especially among those who have not used psychedelics previously. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to further elucidate these relationships.

The objective of the current study was to investigate, for the first time, the association between individual-level residential greenspace and redemption of antidepressant drugs in a longitudinal nationwide population-based sample in Sweden. A nationwide population-based sample of adults residing in Sweden was studied during 2013–2016 (Nindividuals = 108716; Nobservations = 324378). Residential greenspace land cover was assessed via high resolution geographic information systems, at 50, 100, 300, and 500 m buffers around individual residences. Antidepressant redemptions were assessed through the Swedish National Prescribed Drug Register. Greenspace-antidepressant associations were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE), adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic and urban factors. Higher greenspace within 50–500 m residential buffer zones was associated with lower levels of prevalent antidepressant redemptions (50 m, odds ratio [OR] 0.878; 100 m, OR 0.891; 300 m, OR 0.873; 500 m, OR 0.899), while only greenspace in the 50 m buffer was associated with incident antidepressant redemptions (OR 0.853), in covariate-adjusted models. In conclusion, residential greenspace is associated with statistically significantly lower prevalent and incident antidepressant medication redemptions. The association is particularly salient for greenspace in the closest buffer zone around the residence. The results underscore the importance of green infrastructure and greenspace in the immediate residential-surrounding environment for mental health, and further point towards the need for an environmental psychiatry framework, and the importance of integrating health and environmental policies, urban planning and greening.

Background & methods: Traditional methods to combat climate change and biodiversity loss have proven insufficient. New approaches are thus needed, e.g., such that bridges personal and organizational realms of transformation. In this study, decision-makers (N=185) in the EU participated in a survey encompassing trainable transformative psychological qualities, mental training (incl. different types of contemplative practices), well-being, stress, and pro-environmental behaviours (incl. both actions and attitudes).

Results & discussion: Findings revealed a discrepancy between psychological qualities/processes associated with pro-environmental behaviour vs. well-being. Specifically, compassion towards others was associated with pro-environmental actions but was not associated with personal well-being. On the other hand, compassion towards oneself (“self-compassion”) was associated with wellbeing, but not with pro-environmental actions. Nature connectedness was associated with a range of positive outcomes. Furthermore, results show that mental training, especially with longer duration, are linked to increased pro-environmental behaviours, and to well-being. Importantly, at an organizational level, workplace sustainability efforts, from top management to personal contributions, were interrelated and can guide future interventions.

Interventions and strategies for enhancing pro-environmental behaviours important in the work towards mitigating biodiversity loss and climate change are discussed.

Background: Human health and environmental sustainability constitute major local and global challenges which are also closely interconnected. Mental health and sleeping problems are e.g. public health concerns that are costly for society and for individuals.Exposure to natural environments such as green (vegetation) and blue (water) space are associated with a range of human health benefits, and are also central in biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. However, population-based studies investigating high-resolution, individual-level residential greenspace are yet limited, as population-based studies have mainly assessed greenspace at more crude aggregated levels. Objective & methods: Thus, in a set of large-scale population-based longitudinal studies, on nationwide cohorts in Sweden, objective high-resolution individual-level residential greenspace land cover assessments were made, including availability and access to different greenspace qualities (incl. of high biodiversity). The role of different residential greenspace qualities was investigated longitudinally for: 1) objective prescription medication purchase for common mental health problems, and 2) self-reported symptoms. Furthermore behaviour-related use and exposure to different types of natural environments were assessed in a sub-cohort, and their significance for multiple health indicators.Results & discussion: Results across studies show that more residential greenspace especially in the immediate residential surrounding (50m and 100m buffer zones around home) is associated with lower insomnia, antidepressant and anxiolytic prescription medication purchases, and less symptoms. Furthermore, spending time in nature especially in the home environment and forests were important for several aspects of mental health and health behaviours.Results highlight the role of greenspace in the immediate residential surroundings, as well as access to high quality greenspaces (i.e. larger coherent green areas conferring higher biodiversity) for mental health and health related behaviours. The multiple pathways through which different greenspace qualities can affect human health, while also contributing to biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and resilience are discussed.