From NPR, this is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedantantham.

If you're living in a city, you may have noticed new buildings popping up.

A high rise here, a skyscraper there.

These concrete jungles make urban living possible.

They allow millions to live together in close proximity and allow modern economies to flourish.

But is there something important missing in this picture?

For most of the last two million years, humans lived in a natural world, relying on nature for food and shelter.

The amount of time we've spent in urban dwellings is a small sliver of the total time humans have spent on Earth.

When you look at it this way, our shift from forest life to freeways and overflowing cities has been very recent and very dramatic.

So how is this shift affecting our health, our mood and our sense of calm?

This week on Hidden Brain, think deeply.

We continue our annual Summer Series, U2.0.

Authenticity is contagious.

I've been dragged into this all the way kicking and screaming.

Ideas and advice about how you can respond to life's chaos.

Just do it, just check to my inbox. Just check, just check, just check to my phone real quick.

With wisdom.

Music

Ming-Kuo has been studying the effects of nature on humans for more than 30 years.

She works at the University of Illinois or Banna-Champaign.

Early in her career, Ming studied research looking at the well-being of animals in zoos.

Researchers found that even when animals were provided all the basics of food, safety and shelter,

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