1A Best Of: How Spending Time In Nature Helps Our Health
Dec 29, 2025
Marc Berman, a psychology professor and director of the Environmental Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Chicago, dives into the fascinating ways nature impacts our well-being. He reveals that just a short walk outdoors can boost your attention span by 20%. Even if you don’t love the outdoors, nature can still enhance your mood and focus. Berman also discusses the importance of taking breaks from screens and suggests that simulated nature, like indoor plants, can provide valuable cognitive benefits. Embrace nature for a healthier mind!
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Listeners' Personal Nature Transformations
- Callers described major mood and health gains from daily outdoor walks, including increased lung capacity and joy.
- One caller said nature is their church and the place they go to revitalize.
Environment Shapes Brain And Behavior
- The physical environment strongly shapes brain structure and behavior through bi-directional relationships.
- Marc Berman argues we design spaces for efficiency, not human flourishing, missing opportunities to improve wellbeing.
Attention Competition Harms Mental Health
- Modern life bombards us with stimuli that deplete directed attention, harming self-control and social behavior.
- Berman links technology's attention capture to widespread directed-attention fatigue and recommends nature as a remedy.