Humans Not Made for Cities

Humans Not Made for Cities

A new study has found that humans may not be suited to life in busy cities. Scientists said the findings show the importance of nature in keeping people healthy and happy.

For most of human history, people lived in natural environments such as forests, beaches and mountains. For survival, they had to work with their bodies, like hunting animals and picking plants. Early humans’ bodies were well adapted to that life and even kept them safe. For example, if someone encountered (遭遇)a lion, their brain sent a warning(警告) to tell their body to move fast to run away.

In the late 1700s, machines started doing much of the work that humans used to do. Soon there were cars, tractors, and factories. Natural spaces were destroyed(破坏) to make room for homes and businesses.

But the study says society (社会) changed much faster than our bodies. This made people unfit for their environment. In modern life, we sit for a long time. Our stress (压力) comes from life, work,school or traffic, not lions. But Daniel Longman, an author of the study, says our bodies and brains still send warnings, as if we are facing many lions one after another.

That can hurt our immune systems(免疫系统) and our health. To solve this problem, the team suggested building more green spaces in cities and spending more time in nature. This can help people stay healthy and strong.