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The Institute of Human Development conducted an experiment involving several dozen city dwellers. The participants were asked either to walk for an hour in the forest or to spend the same time in the busy streets of Berlin.
Brain activity before and after the promenade was analyzed by fMRI. It turned out that being in nature had a significant calming effect on the amygdala. This was proven when, in the next step, participants were shown frightening images. Those who spent an hour in the woods had a weaker response to such stress.
