Nature and the Mind
by Marc Berman
ISBN-13: 9781668058770
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: S&S/Simon Element
Released: August 12, 2025
Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Dr. Marc Berman, the pioneering creator of the field of environmental neuroscience, has discovered the surprising connection between mind, body, and environment, with a special emphasis on the natural environment. He has devoted his life to studying it. If you sometimes feel drained, distracted, or depressed, Dr. Berman has identified the elements of a “nature prescription” that can boost your energy, sharpen your focus, change your mood, and improve your mental and physical health. He also reveals how central attention is to all of these functions, and how interactions with nature can restore it. Nature and the Mind is both an introduction to a revolutionary new scientific field and a helpful guide to better living.
In these pages, he draws on his original research and research from others and shares life-altering findings such as:
-Just eleven more trees on your street can decrease cardio-metabolic disorders like stroke, diabetes, and heart disease.
-A short walk in nature can improve attention by almost twenty percent, decrease depression symptoms, and make people feel more spiritual and self-reflective.
-More greenspace around schools and homes is related to better school performance, reduced crime, and improved working memory.
-Many of these effects can be achieved even if you don’t like nature.
With an engaging and approachable style, Dr. Berman offers the nature prescription for physical health, mental health, and social health. The nature prescription includes practical ways to bring the outside indoors and to “naturize” our spaces, no matter where you live. This groundbreaking guide explains why and how nature is good for our brains and bodies and gives us a window into fundamental aspects of our psychology and physiology that can be improved through interactions with nature.
My Review:
Nature and the Mind is part science and part biography. The author liked to talk about his life, like how he got interested in the field of environmental neuroscience and how he applied his findings to his own life. He also told of how the other people that he mentioned got into using nature to positively impact people's mental states. As for the science, he talked about his own research and other related research. He gave details about how the studies were set up, what they found, and how that might be applied to improve people's mood or ability to focus. He's not really into raw nature (as even his nature walks are in man-made and -maintained spaces), so he suggested things like modifying architecture or home spaces to have certain 'natural' elements and what those are. Overall, it was an interesting book.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
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