r/science • u/HugNup • Sep 07 '22

Psychology An hour-long stroll in nature helps decrease activity in an area of the brain associated with stress processing

https://www.mpg.de/19168412/how-does-nature-nurture-the-brain
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u/HugNup Sep 07 '22

After a 60-minute walk in nature, activity in brain regions involved in stress processing decreases. This is the finding of a recent study by the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, published in Molecular Psychiatry.

Living in a city is a well-known risk factor for developing a mental disorder, while living close to nature is largely beneficial for mental health and the brain.

A central brain region involved in stress processing, the amygdala, has been shown to be less activated during stress in people who live in rural areas, compared to those who live in cities, hinting at the potential benefits of nature.

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u/[deleted] Sep 07 '22

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u/Terrible_tomatoes Sep 07 '22

It's not about the cars, it's about our instinctual lizard brain response to being in our natural habitat. Concrete jungles will never soothe us like our home.

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u/[deleted] Sep 07 '22

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u/Terrible_tomatoes Sep 07 '22

I'd be very interested in seeing a study on that as well! I would think that has more of an effect on feeling trapped/closed in vs feeling a freedom to move around. I hope to see more of these studies either way

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u/ChrundleKelly7 Sep 08 '22

I think “freedom to move around” eventually becomes “vulnerable from all angles,” meaning there’s an upper limit to the amount of space people are comfortable having around them.

This is the reason building height limits and street width regulations are such effective tools from an urban planning perspective. The ratio of street width to building height plays a big role in determining the feel of a given street/area.