Do you ever feel a bit stressed and think that taking a walk in the woods is just the thing to calm your mind? Maybe you take a moment to listen to the birdsong around you to lift your mood during your lunch hour. Or maybe you feel a deep sensation of relaxation when you hear the sound of a gently flowing brook.

Over the past decade or so new evidence on what is going on in our bodies when we interact with nature has emerged leading to some fascinating discoveries showing how forming a deeper relationship with nature can help our mental and physical health.

In this episode, we catch up with Kathy Willis, professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford to talk about her new book Good Nature: The New Science of How Nature Improves Our Health.

She tells us how smelling pine trees can slow our heart rates, how keeping houseplants can make our gut microbiomes healthier and how touching wooden furniture can help us feel calmer.

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