Commitments And Contingencies (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($) properties	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Incentive to Lessee	$ 8,538	$ 7,456
Number of Real Estate Properties \| properties	220
Bickford Development Properties [Member]
Developer Incentive Payments	$ 250,000
Incentive to Lessee	$ 1,750,000
Number Of Development Projects Active \| properties	5

This item represents contingent payments to developers which are an incentive to complete a construction project within the scheduled project time frame.

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	nhi_DeveloperIncentivePayments
Namespace Prefix:	nhi_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This item represents the number of active development or construction projects.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	nhi_NumberOfDevelopmentProjectsActive
Namespace Prefix:	nhi_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This item represents the deferred charge for an incentive or inducement granted by a lessor to a lessee, in order to motivate the lessee to enter the lease agreement, which incentive or inducement is to be recognized as a reduction of rental revenue over the lease term.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 840
-SubTopic 20
-Section 25
-Paragraph 7
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77902458&loc=d3e40019-112707

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 840
-SubTopic 20
-Section 25
-Paragraph 6
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77902458&loc=d3e40010-112707

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncentiveToLessee
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The number of real estate properties owned as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfRealEstateProperties
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	invest_InvestmentAxis=nhi_BickfordDevelopmentPropertiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: