An outstanding book on the science of nature and its implications for the mind. It is especially relevant for readers who wish to delve deeper into the research and its implications.

This engaging and easy-to-read book reveals the link between the natural environment and your physical, mental, and social well-being. Discover how more trees on your street can decrease heart disease, a walk in nature can boost attention, and greenspace improves school performance. Drawing on cutting-edge research, this book offers practical strategies to harness the benefits of nature, even indoors.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary 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.

Many nonfiction books are better off as articles.
Marc Berman's book may be one of those, as everyone will likely agree with his thesis: nature is good for the human soul.

It has a high "duh" factor.

This is why I was hesitant to read Berman's book.
Still, I hoped to glean some remarkable facts.

"The worse off we are, maybe the more dramatically nature can set us right."

Humans love biophilic architecture, which mimics natural elements by incorporating curves and organic qualities.

We don't know if walking in Yosemite is better than walking in your urban park.

29% of US adults have been diagnosed with depression at some point.

Naturalize your space: bring a real or fake plant to work, create an arch over a doorway, or make your alarm clock play birdsong.

Supernatural images are preferred over natural ones.

Future cities should incorporate plants abundantly.
Buildings will look like giant trees or mountains.

Bermann is not anti-city. Stockholm is an ideal city. Singapore, Seoul, and Amsterdam are also notable for their innovation.

KEY TAKEAWAY: We are who we are because of our environment. Science proves that green spaces improve minds.

If you desire a deep dive into this subject, this is a perfect book.
I skimmed several sections because I felt the book was overkill for the subject matter.

The subject of this book really caught my attention. During COVID I coped with the isolation in part by falling in love with the outdoors, and in particular grew a deep fascination with trees. Couple that with the stress that we’re all feeling at the moment and this book seemed to be right up my alley.

The author certainly dives into the topic of attention restoration through nature, which was incredibly fascinating to read. However by the midpoint of the book I have confess that I began suffering from study overload! While assertions about the positive impact of nature are central to the book’s theme, there are just too many studies cited. Because there were so many, they also felt repetitive, as many studies only revealed subtle differences in outcome.

The book would have been that much more enjoyable if some anecdotes into the benefits of nature were included, or perhaps more attention was given to more landscapes that captured the essential elements of nature’s restorative powers.

The book was certainly an enjoyable read, but I believe the author left some opportunities on the table that would have made it all the more captivating.