IAS Seminar: "Get Out!" Breaking Out of Our Comfort Zone to Improve Human Health

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Christopher Todd Minson delivers a seminar on their research.

We are now in the 'urban century' in which humans are more disconnected from the natural world than previously in human existence. This is having a profound negative impact on our physical and mental health. How do we counter the demands and distractions of a plugged-in life with our mental and physical health? The answer may be to get outside of our comfort zone through exposure to the world we evolved in: to be surrounded by nature, to be hot, to be cold, to be out of breath. There is a growing interest in how environmental exposures can improve health and well-being, with many people seeking out ways to get back to their core experiences. Research is now demonstrating that these exposures can create a more stress-resistant phenotype to counter inflammation and oxidative stress, which underlie physiological changes with ageing, chronic disease, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Arrivals from 11.45am for a 12pm start. For those joining in-person, lunch will be served after the seminar from 1pm.