Maybe you don’t need another meditation app, just to look at a tree out the window.
- Biophilia: It’s our innate and biological need to connect with nature, an inheritance from our ancestors.
- Brain and Stress: Contact with natural environments, even small ones, reduces levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and improves mood.
- Cognitive Benefits: Spending time in green spaces increases our ability to concentrate and our creativity.
- Not Just Forests: Biophilia can be satisfied in the city, too; you don’t need to plan a hiking trip to the mountains every weekend.
- Practical Solutions: Integrating nature into an urban routine is simple. Think a run in the park, plants on your desk, or a lunch break on a lawn.
- A Necessity, Not a Luxury: Acknowledging this need isn’t some hippie whim but a fundamental step for our psychophysical well-being.
Feeling Stressed? Maybe You Just Need a Tree.
We live in strange times: we have smartphones that could launch a rocket to the moon, shoes with carbon plates that make us fly, and refrigerators that warn us when the yogurt is about to expire. Yet, one notification too many, a meeting gone wrong, or the usual traffic jam is all it takes to make us short-circuit. We feel crushed, anxious, perpetually overwhelmed. And so we turn to mindfulness apps, stress management courses, and relaxing herbal teas.
But what if the solution, or at least a significant part of it, isn’t found in an application but has always been right there, within reach? What if that feeling of oppression you get sitting at your desk for eight hours isn’t just fatigue but a kind of ancestral nostalgia? A longing for something our reptilian brain recognizes as “home”: a tree, a blade of grass, the sound of the wind in the leaves.
What Is Biophilia: The Science of Our Love for Nature
Biophilia is a fascinating and solid scientific hypothesis proposed by the American biologist Edward O. Wilson. The core idea is very simple: we human beings have an innate tendency, written in our DNA, to seek connections with nature and other forms of life.
Think about it for a moment. For 99% of our evolutionary history, we were hunter-gatherers, nomads immersed in natural landscapes. Our senses were honed to distinguish the rustle of prey from that of the wind, to recognize an edible berry, to find shelter in a cave. Concrete, asphalt, and backlit screens are very recent inventions for our biological clock. Deep down, our brain is still that of a guy who lived on the savanna. That’s why the sight of a forest, the sound of the sea, or the smell of damp earth gives us a feeling of deep, inexplicable well-being. It’s not romanticism, it’s biology.
The 3 Proven Benefits of a “Dose” of Green on Your Brain
Just a few minutes in contact with a natural environment can trigger measurable physiological changes.
First: Stress reduction.
Exposure to green spaces lowers levels of cortisol (the infamous stress hormone), slows the heart rate, and lowers blood pressure.
Second: Mood improvement.
Nature stimulates the production of serotonin, giving us a feeling of calm and happiness. It’s a natural antidepressant with no side effects.
Third: Increased concentration. Our brain, constantly bombarded by artificial stimuli, goes into “cognitive overload.” Nature, with its soft and non-intrusive stimuli (so-called “soft fascination”), allows our attention to rest and regenerate, improving our cognitive abilities and creativity once we’re back at our desks.
How to Satisfy Your Need for Nature (Even if You Live Downtown)
“That’s all well and good,” you might be thinking, “but I live on the fifth floor of an apartment building on the ring road, and the only nature I see is the plastic ficus in the lobby.” Stay calm. Satisfying our need for Biophilia doesn’t necessarily require moving to a cabin in the mountains. It’s about integrating small, conscious doses of nature into our routine.
Running in the Park: Your Daily “Forest Bathing”
You don’t have to run in an ancient forest. That city park you’ve always snubbed is perfect. Instead of running on a treadmill watching the news, go outside. Focus on the sensations: the fresh air in your lungs, the uneven ground under your feet, the colors of the trees changing with the seasons. It’s the urban version of Shinrin-yoku, the Japanese “forest bath.” Same benefits, fewer miles to drive.
The “Biophilic” Desk: Surround Yourself With Plants
If you can’t go to nature, bring nature to you. The presence of plants in the office has been shown to increase employee productivity and well-being. A small succulent or a fern on your desk is enough to create a healthier and more stimulating micro-environment. It’s a small gesture that tells your brain, “Don’t worry, we’re not trapped in a concrete box.”
Lunch Break on the Grass
Instead of eating the same sad salad in front of your computer screen, take your lunch and go sit on the nearest patch of grass. Take off your shoes (if the context allows), and feel the connection with the earth. Watch the ants scurrying about, look at the clouds passing by. Ten minutes like this are worth more than an hour of compulsive scrolling on social media.
Nature Isn’t a Destination, It’s a Necessity.
We have learned to take care of our bodies with nutrition and exercise. Now it’s time to understand that our mind also needs its specific nourishment. Nature isn’t a luxury to be enjoyed on vacation, a beautiful landscape to set as a desktop background. It is a fundamental need, a biological necessity whose deficiency has concrete consequences on our equilibrium. Recognizing this and acting on it, even with small daily gestures, is perhaps one of the most intelligent and revolutionary acts of self-care we can perform for ourselves.