Does a forest near your home protect your brain?

Urban green, forest and the brain’s stress centre in older city dwellers.

In cities, we live between streets, buildings, parks and sometimes forests. Does the kind of nature around our home matter for the brain?

The study

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development examined 341 older adults from the Berlin Aging Study II, with an average age of 70. They combined MRI scans with maps of the land use around each home: urban green, forest, water and wasteland.

The findings

People with more forest around their home showed greater structural integrity of the amygdala, a region central to processing stress. Urban green, water and wasteland showed no such association. The study is cross-sectional, so it is also possible that people with healthier brains choose to live closer to the forest.

What this means for architecture

For urban planning, the study points to the kind of nature, not only its presence. A forest in the neighbourhood may matter in a different way than a small green patch. It is an argument for keeping and connecting woodland within the city.

Conclusion

The neighbourhood we live in may be part of how our brain ages. The forest may belong to that equation.