You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Hi Shortwave, Aaron Scott here.

I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath.

Now, imagine the place where you feel most at ease.

What does it look like?

What does it sound like?

Is it indoors or outdoors?

Maybe it's a beach or a forest?

For me, it's this grassy noles surrounded by a lake at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge.

There are turtles basking on a log, grape blue heron walking through the shallows, clouds floating up overhead.

For ming-quo, it's up in the tree canopy.

We have a tree-lined neighborhood and I walk to campus through the trees and as I go, I kind of have my chin tilted up and I'm mentally flying through the canopy all the way to school.

And I think it looks pretty silly, probably, to me to pass or spy, but it's actually quite a lovely experience.

I really like it.

When is an environmental psychologist at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and her decision to take the scenic route is actually a scientific one?

A walk under the canopy has been scientifically proven to refresh you.

There are specific signs that tell you it's working.

One of the signs is a sense of awe.

Experiencing a sense of awe on a regular basis is very much tied to inflammatory cytokines, for example.

Feeling genuinely relaxed is a big signal.

Noticing good smells, because good smells are often associated with changes in serotonin metabolism.

Today, on the show, we're going to look up to that tree canopy to explore the different ways that urban nature makes for healthier humans.

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