Numerous studies have linked exposure to nature to a variety of health benefits, from improved cognitive function to lower blood pressure and improved mental health. Other studies have found a link between the human microbiome and time spent outdoors. However, what has been overlooked and understudied in this context is the collection of microorganisms found within the nose, or the nasal microbiome.
Researchers at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science recently set out to fill that gap. In a study conducted at the museum in a cohort of 111 museum visitors, microbiologists identified characteristics and patterns in nasal microbes that were associated with participants’ mental health and exposure to parks and other green spaces.
The museum’s principal investigator, genomics scientist Dr. Bridget Chalifour, led the research and presented the results at ASM Microbe 2026 in Washington, DC.
Inside the museum building is a genomics lab, where Chalifour works, which visitors can observe through glass walls. He said the study asked participants to provide a nasal swab and complete a validated survey that included questions about their mental health, time spent outdoors and pet ownership. Collecting swab samples was easy. “Since COVID-19, people have become very adept at taking their own nasal samples,” Chalifour said.
She and her collaborators used 16S rRNA sequencing to catalog the participants’ nasal microbiomes and worked with museum geoscientist researchers to identify participants’ green space maps based on their address using publicly available satellite data.
Their preliminary analysis suggests that contact with green spaces and pets significantly influences the composition of the nasal microbiome, consistent with previous research on microbes and mental health. The researchers found that people who lived around more plants had a wider variety of microbes in their noses, and some microbes appeared more or less depending on the green space in their neighborhoods.
We tend to associate diversity and richness with a healthier microbiome. ”
Dr. Brigitte Chalifour, Museum Chief Researcher
Some of the same microbes that correlated with a reported increase in time spent outdoors were similarly associated with improved mental health scores.
This analysis also showed that time spent outdoors had a stronger association with a healthy nasal microbiome than exposure to green spaces. “Time was really of the essence in every way,” she said. “Regardless of the amount of greenery, people who spent more time outdoors had lower depression scores overall.”
And, digging a little deeper, she noted that the nasal microbiome appears to respond to those choices and may help promote positive changes in mental well-being. “People are changing their microbiomes just by spending more time in nature,” she says.
Although this research is one of the museum team’s first forays into microbiology, the institution already has a strong tradition of scientific research across many disciplines, Chalifour said. “We actually do a lot of research at the museum,” she said.
sauce:
American Society for Microbiology
