Report · Politics

Americans visit nature most to refresh their mind

Reading

Americans go to nature mostly for what it does inside their heads: 57% say a wish to 'refresh' their brain or attention motivates their visits, with changing their mood close behind at 55%, according to a May 2026 Verasight survey.

About half (51%) go to connect with the physical environment, and 47% go to exercise. Smaller shares say visits are part of their routine (23%) or a way to connect with other people (17%), while 9% say none of these reasons applies.

Topline

select all

Selected responses

Americans visit nature most to refresh their mind.

When you visit nature or engage with natural environments, what reasons motivate that visit?

  • To 'refresh' my brain or attention 57.0%
  • To change my mood 54.7%
  • To connect with the physical environment 51.1%
  • To exercise 46.6%
  • It's part of my routine 22.8%
  • To connect with other people 16.9%
  • None of the above 9.1%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.3%

politics

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.3%
Module
politics

Source

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.3%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.