🧠 Contact with nature resets the brain

A study reveals that spending time in nature, even briefly, causes changes in the brain that reduce stress, restore attention, and calm mental agitation.

Researchers from McGill University and the University of Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile conducted one of the most comprehensive reviews to date on the brain's response to nature by examining over 100 brain imaging studies from various disciplines.


"Instinctively, we know that nature is good for us, but neuroscience provides a credible scientific basis for guiding health policies and designing our living spaces," says Mar Estarellas, co-lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, at McGill University.

Four signs of a calmed brain

By compiling the results from a wide range of studies, the research team saw the emergence of what they call a "cascade model," illustrating the brain's response to nature:

- Sensory processing changes: The fractal patterns found in nature are easier for the brain to process and require less mental effort than the fast-paced and visually dense stimuli it is exposed to in cities or online.

- Stress mechanisms slow down: As the sensory load decreases, the body abandons the "fight or flight" mode. Heart rate decreases, breathing becomes deeper, and brain regions involved in threat detection, like the amygdala, are less active.

- Attention is restored: With stress reduced, task-oriented attention gives way to a restorative attention mode, guided by nature.

- Mental rumination fades: Brain networks linked to self-focused, repetitive thoughts are less active, promoting a sense of inner calm.

What does "being in nature" mean?

There are multiple ways to experience nature. One can simply spend time in a park or near water, or choose an immersive experience, like a forest walk or swimming in a waterfall. More modest actions, such as caring for plants at home or looking at pictures depicting natural elements, also count.

"We can observe measurable changes after just three minutes spent in a natural environment, but generally, the longer and more immersive the experiences, the more pronounced and lasting the effects are," explains Mar Estarellas.

Mental reset

At a time when there is growing concern about excessive screen time, the study's results seem to indicate that nature operates a kind of mental reset inaccessible through simple digital detox, explains Mar Estarellas.

The data also favors green urban planning and "social prescribing," which involves doctors recommending that their patients spend time in nature.

"Contact with nature also has societal implications, argues Mar Estarellas. Research shows that people who feel more connected to nature tend to adopt more environmentally respectful behavior. Caring for nature goes hand in hand with caring for oneself."