Our ancestors have lived in forested river valleys for millions of years.
Despite its many perks, cities represent a radical new kind of habitat that can be hard to maintain. There is research linking urban environments with increased risk for mental health problems.
Visiting wilderness is associated with a number of mental and physical health benefits, including lower blood pressure, reduced anxiety and depression, improved mood, better focus, better sleep, and faster healing.
There are a lot of studies that support this correlation. Is it possible to walk in a forest and change the brain? How would it be if that were the case?
The amygdala is a small structure in the center of the brain that is involved in stress processing and emotional learning.
It doesn't mean that rural living causes stress in the amygdala. People who have this trait are more likely to live in the country than those who don't.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development came up with a new study with help from fMRI.
The researchers used 63 healthy adult volunteers and asked them to fill out questionnaires, perform a working memory task, and have fMRI scans in order to induce social stress. The participants were told about the study but didn't know what it was about.
The subjects were assigned to walk for one hour in either an urban setting or a natural one in Berlin.
They were asked to walk a specific route in either location without using their phones. After their walk, each participant had to take a fMRI Scan and fill out a questionnaire.
The researchers reported that the fMRI scans showed a reduction in activity in the amygdala after a walk in the woods. It can be done in 60 minutes.
Simone Khn, head of the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, says the study proves the link between nature and brain health.
The study found that participants who took a forest walk reported more attention restoration and more enjoyment of the walk than those who took urban walks.
People who took urban walks were discovered to be interesting. Their amygdala activity didn't increase even though they spent an hour in a busy city.
The researchers argue that the salutogenic effects of nature are more important than the stress caused by urban exposure.
It doesn't mean that exposure to the city won't cause stress, but it may be a positive sign. Maybe the stressing effect is not as strong as other studies suggest, or maybe it depends on factors that weren't present on that Berlin street.
The new study shows that taking a stroll through a nearby forest can help reduce stress in the brain.
There was a study published.
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