"In a study published last month, Berman outfitted undergraduates at the University of Michigan with GPS receivers. Some of the students took a stroll in an arb

"In a study published last month, Berman outfitted undergraduates at the University of Michigan with GPS receivers. Some of the students took a stroll in an arboretum, while others walked around the busy streets of downtown Ann Arbor. The subjects were then run through a battery of psychological tests. People who had walked through the city were in a worse mood and scored significantly lower on a test of attention and working memory, which involved repeating a series of numbers backwards. In fact, just glancing at a photograph of urban scenes led to measurable impairments, at least when compared with pictures of nature." I'm amazed by how the effects arise so quickly, but it makes intuitive sense to me too based on my experiences. Personally I like to go back and forth, spending extended periods of time in quiet towns where I can focus, and then traveling somewhere exciting to connect with people and be inspired by what's going on in the world around me.