Dr. Marc Berman - "The Restorative Benefits of Interacting with Nature"

For centuries people have had the intuition that interacting with nature is good for us. Attention Restoration Theory (ART) provides a theoretical framework to explain how and why interacting with nature can be beneficial for cognitive functioning. A series of experiments will be presented with results that support ART, in addition to some future experiments that examine why interacting with nature can benefit us psychologically. Results from these experiments provide another reason why the advanced destruction of the natural environment can have not only adverse ecological effects, but psychological effects as well.
Marc Berman received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of South Carolina where he examines the brain mechanisms involved in controlling thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and how to improve those abilities. Marc has authored or co-authored over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals and edited book chapters on these topics. His work has also been cited in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker Magazine, the Atlantic, the CBC and the Boston Globe as well as other media and news outlets. Berman's groundbreaking research has shown that spending time with nature -- for example, going for a walk in the park -- refreshes our brain, improving attention and memory performance.