Sudimac, Sale, and Kuhn confirm the value of taking walks in natural areas. They share that they “conducted an intervention study to investigate changes in stress-related brain regions as an effect of a one-hour walk in an urban (busy street) vs. natural environment (forest). . . . findings reveal that amygdala [the amygdala is involved in stress processing] activation decreases after the walk in nature, whereas it remains stable after the walk in an urban environment. These results suggest that going for a walk in nature . . . may act as a preventive measure against mental strain and potentially disease. Given rapidly increasing urbanization, the present results may influence urban planning to create more accessible green areas and to adapt urban environments in a way that will be beneficial for citizens’ mental health.”
Sonja Sudimac, Vera Sale, and Simone Kuhn. 2022. “How Nature Nurtures: Amygdala Activity Decreases as the Result of a One-Hour Walk in Nature.” Molecular Psychiatry, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01720-6