608: The ultimate guide to using nature for brain health & longevity | Marc Berman, Ph.D.

The mindbodygreen Podcast

mindbodygreen

Alternative Health, Health & Fitness

4.6 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 July 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Green spaces and trees are not an amenity—they're a necessity,” explains Marc Berman, Ph.D. Marc Berman, Ph.D., environmental neuroscientist, professor and chair of psychology at the University of Chicago, and the founding director of the Environmental Neuroscience Lab, joins us today to dive deep into the powerful benefits of nature on our mental and physical health. - What is environmental neuroscience? (~2:50) - The Nature Walk study (~6:20) - Green vs. blue spaces (~12:00) - How much nature do you need? (~18:10) - The case for more green spaces (~19:10) - Mental health benefits of being in nature (~22:55) - How different types of trees impact the benefits (~27:25) - The impact of natural disasters (~28:25) - Redesigning our environments, schools, & workplaces (~31:00) - Nature for depression (~34:30) - Why you should be ‘nature rising’ (~36:15) - Berman’s favorite places (~38:05) - Upcoming research (~40:30) - Start doing this today (~42:50) Referenced in the episode: - Learn more about Berman & his lab (https://voices.uchicago.edu/bermanlab/berman/) - Pick up his book, Nature and the Mind (https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Mind-Improves-Cognitive-Well-being/dp/1668058774) - Check out his research (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zCT_0OQAAAAJ&hl=en) - Research on green spaces and schoolchildren (PMID: 25204008) - Research on crime and vegetation (https://doi.org/10.1177/001391601219731) - Research on hospital recovery and nature views (PMID: 6143402) We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the My Buddy Green podcast. I'm Jason Wachib, founder and co-CEO of My Buddy Green, and your host.
0:02.3	Oikos presents 15 seconds of string. Here we go. Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him. Oh, that's tough, Jim. Looks like a five-trip load at least. He grabs the first bag. The second, Bob, it looks like he's trying to do it on one trip.
0:05.4	He shimmies the door open, steps over the dog, oh, and he stumbles.
0:38.5	Oh, right into the kitchen without missing a beat. Jim, now that's a man who eats his protein-packed. Oikos. With 15 grams of complete protein in each cup, Oikos Triple Zero can help build strength for every day. Oikos, stronger makes everything better. This podcast was made in partnership with HelloFresh. Summer is the season of doing, whether it's checking off that home
0:42.9	project, revamping your fitness routine, or simply soaking up some well-deserved sunshine.
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1:51.9	What if the key to improving your focus, lifting your mood, and even boosting your heart
1:56.1	health was as simple as stepping outside? Today's guest, Dr. Mark Berman, is here to show
2:00.6	us how nature isn't just a nice to have, it's a guest, Dr. Mark Berman, is here to show us how nature isn't
2:01.6	just a nice to have, it's a biological necessity. Dr. Berman is an environmental neuroscientist,
2:06.8	professor and chair of psychology at the University of Chicago, and the founding director of the
2:10.9	Environmental Neuroscience Lab. Quite simply, he is the authority on the health benefits of nature.
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