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A Neuroscientist’s Guide To Using Nature For Better Brain Function
If you've ever returned from a walk in the park and felt sharper, calmer, or just a bit more like yourself, there’s a reason for that—and it goes deeper than just “getting some fresh air.”
On the mindbodygreen podcast, I sat down with Marc Berman, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and founder of the Environmental Neuroscience Lab. Berman is a pioneer in a growing field that explores how our surroundings impact mental function, and his new book, Nature and the Mind, outlines just how profoundly nature shapes cognitive performance, emotional well-being, and even physical health.
Whether you live near a beach, a forest, or just have access to a single tree, your environment holds powerful potential to support your well-being. Here’s how:
What is environmental neuroscience, exactly?
Berman coined the term “environmental neuroscience” to describe this emerging field, which explores how surroundings, particularly natural ones, influence mental processes. His interest in psychology was shaped early on by his grandparents’ stories of surviving the Holocaust, and by studying how social environments could lead ordinary people to do extraordinary things—good or bad.
That curiosity eventually brought him to the work of Stephen Kaplan, a psychologist who developed “Attention Restoration Theory,” a framework that explains how nature helps the brain recover from mental fatigue. It was this theory that Berman would go on to test (and help prove) through years of research.
The power of a nature walk
Berman and his team set out to answer whether a simple walk in nature could measurably enhance attention and memory.
Participants completed a demanding mental task in the lab, a backwards digit span test designed to tax working memory. Then, half of them took a walk through a park, while the other half walked through a city street. Upon returning, they repeated the same test.
The result? Those who walked in nature improved their cognitive performance by about 20%. Urban walkers didn’t see the same benefit. Remarkably, even participants who didn’t enjoy the walk, like those walking in freezing Chicago winters, still saw gains.
How nature changes your brain
To understand why this happens, we need to talk about attention.
According to Attention Restoration Theory, your brain has two kinds of attention: directed and involuntary. Directed attention is the kind you use when you focus on work or school; it’s effortful and depletable. That’s why by late afternoon, your brain feels foggy.
Involuntary attention, on the other hand, is what happens when something automatically captures your focus, like rustling leaves, crashing waves, or birdsong. Natural environments offer what scientists call soft fascination: gentle, pleasant stimuli that draw you in without overstimulating your brain. These environments let your directed attention rest and recharge.
The benefits don’t stop with focus
Improved memory and concentration are just the start. Berman’s research shows that exposure to green spaces is associated with:
- Better mental health: In people with clinical depression, nature walks resulted in even greater cognitive benefits1 compared to healthy participants. “We thought ruminating in nature might worsen symptoms, but we found the opposite,” says Berman.
- Faster recovery: Patients recovering from surgery in hospital rooms with a window view of trees needed less pain medication and left the hospital sooner2 than those with views of a wall.
- Improved school performance: One study found that children who had more green space around their schools and homes performed better on attention and memory tests, even after accounting for socioeconomic differences.
- Reduced aggression and crime: In Chicago public housing projects, residents who had modest views of nature, just a few trees or some grass, showed lower aggression levels and lived in buildings with less reported crime.
Even subtle changes made a difference. In Toronto, Berman’s team found that adding just one average-sized tree per city block improved people’s self-reported health as much as moving to a neighborhood with a $10,000 higher median income.
How to build more nature into your life
You don’t need to live next to a forest to tap into the benefits. According to Berman, here’s what works:
- Aim for 2 hours of nature per week, or about 20 minutes a day. This is the “minimum effective dose” shown to support attention and well-being.
- Use nature breaks wisely. The best time to step outside is when your focus starts to fade, mid-afternoon, for instance, or after long periods of screen time.
- Even simulated nature can help. Looking at nature photos or listening to nature sounds for 10 minutes can still support cognitive function, though the effects aren’t quite as strong as the real thing.
- Redesign your space. If possible, add plants, nature views, or even images of natural scenes to your home or workspace. They can still offer benefits.
- Don’t wait for perfect weather. The benefits of nature exposure hold true in rain, snow, or cold, so bundle up and go.
The takeaway
Berman’s research makes one thing clear: Nature isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a powerful tool for improving public health. It supports everything from attention and memory to emotional regulation, immune function, and recovery. “A lot of people still think of nature as an amenity,” Berman says. “But it’s a necessity.”