Scientists have found out which practices best improve mental health

Physical activity, psychological practices, yoga and even nature walks can be equally effective in improving mental wellbeing in adults.

This is the conclusion reached by researchers from Swansea University in the largest analysis to date of interventions aimed at improving quality of life. The results are published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

The scientists analysed data from 183 randomised controlled trials involving almost 23,000 people. The review included 12 categories of approaches, ranging from psychological and physical to body-centred and nature-based. This is the first interdisciplinary comparison of this magnitude.

Unlike much previous work, the study focused on the general adult population rather than clinical groups. This makes the results particularly useful for the development of public health programmes, workplace initiatives, education and community-based interventions.

The analysis showed that most interventions markedly increased subjective well-being compared to no intervention. Combined approaches, such as physical activity combined with psychological practices, showed the most pronounced effects. These include mindfulness walks or 'awe walks', in which participants deliberately focus on feeling delighted by their surroundings.

Body-centred practices including yoga, breathing techniques and meditation have shown consistent and moderate positive effects. Meanwhile, conventional physical exercise was found to be comparable in effectiveness to many psychological methods. Positive psychology interventions - both single and holistic - also showed reliable improvements in well-being.

According to the authors, the results confirm that there is no universal "recipe for happiness." People may choose different paths depending on personal preferences, living conditions and available resources. The combination of movement and psychological work looks the most promising.

The researchers emphasise that such data is particularly important for the prevention of mental health problems. The variety of effective approaches gives policy makers and practitioners the flexibility to create accessible and tailored wellbeing support programmes for different populations.

The work also complements the GENIAL model developed in Swansea, which sees wellbeing as the result of a person's connection to themselves, to others and to nature.