A quiet walk along the water might do more for loneliness than joining a group activity there. But the reason appears to be more personal than most people would expect.
Researchers found that spending time on or along a lake was associated with lower loneliness. What drove that link wasn't bumping into neighbors or joining a group paddle. It appeared to flow through something more internal: a felt sense of oneness with nature and an emotional bond with a specific place. Doing those activities alone was associated with a stronger version of that effect.
Loneliness has been rising for years. Health researchers have linked the condition to depression, premature death, dementia, and cardiovascular disease. For years, the leading explanation for why outdoor activities help with loneliness centered on socializing. Programs designed to combat loneliness have leaned heavily on this model. But the evidence has always been surprisingly thin. Prior research has consistently found that interventions built around social interaction opportunities are not particularly effective at reducing loneliness.
Researchers designed this study to explore a different possibility: that the link between outdoor activities and reduced loneliness runs through a person's internal connection to nature and place. They surveyed residents living near Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake. Participants reported how often they engaged in nine activities on or along the lake. They also reported how often they did those activities alone. Separate sections measured their sense of connection to nature, their emotional attachment to Mjøsa, and their loneliness levels.
More frequent activities on or along Mjøsa were linked to a stronger sense of connection to nature and a deeper attachment to the lake. Those feelings, in turn, were associated with lower loneliness scores. Connectedness to nature — a sense of kinship with animals, plants, and the broader living world — showed the strongest association and was linked to reduced loneliness across all three measures the study used.
Not every activity had the same effect. Enjoying life along the shore, walking along it, and walking on the ice showed the strongest ties to feeling connected to nature. Exercising along the shore stood out at the other end, with the weakest association. Researchers attribute this to how attention is directed. Activities involving sensory noticing and aesthetic appreciation appear to deepen the bond with nature, while exercise-focused activity tends not to.
When people reported doing lake activities alone, the indirect link between those activities and reduced loneliness grew stronger. Solitude, the researchers suggest, gives people mental space to turn their attention outward toward the environment rather than inward toward conversation.
That said, the authors note that both too much and too little time alone can be harmful. The finding does not mean isolating oneself in nature is a reliable path to wellbeing. Lonelier people may actively seek out nature to compensate for unmet social needs, a pattern supported by research showing ostracized individuals have a stronger desire to connect with nature.