Natural surroundings help men get adequate sleep

Living near a park or a sandy beach and an ocean view can help people - especially men and those who are above 65 - sleep better, new research has found.

"This new study shows that exposure to a natural environment may help people get the sleep they need," said one of the researchers Diana Grigsby-Toussaint, professor at University of Illinois in the US.

The study surveyed 255,171 US adults, to learn whether there was an association between self-reported days of insufficient sleep and access to green space.

"Interestingly, across the entire sample, individuals reporting 21 to 29 days of insufficient sleep consistently had lower odds of access to green space and natural amenities compared to those reporting less than one week," she said.

For men, the relationship between sleep and exposure to green space was much stronger than for women.

And males and females 65 and over found nature to be a potent sleep aid, she pointed out.

Living near green landscapes is associated with higher levels of physical activity and that exercise in turn predicts beneficial sleep patterns, Grigsby-Toussaint explained.

But men appeared to benefit much more from their natural surroundings. The researcher speculated that women may take less advantage of nearby natural settings out of concern for their safety.

The study was published in the journal Preventive Medicine.