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Mar Estarellas is a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University in the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry within the Department of Psychiatry. Her work focuses on interactions between the brain, body, and natural rhythms, including the neuroscience of nature exposure. She co-led a scoping review titled "Your Brain on Nature: A Scoping Review of the Neuroscience of Nature Exposure," published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews in 2026, which examined how time in natural environments affects brain function, stress reduction, attention restoration, and mental clarity. The review highlighted that even brief exposure, such as three minutes, can produce measurable changes, with longer or more immersive experiences yielding stronger effects.
Prior to her role at McGill, Estarellas completed a PhD at University College London, where she developed data-driven disease progression models for Alzheimer's disease using medical imaging and computer science approaches. Her research interests encompass neurophenomenology, nature connectedness, consciousness, complexity, and related areas. She is also affiliated with the Contemplation and Psychedelics Lab at McGill and has a background as a painter with interests in holistic health and nature.
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McGill University's scoping review of 100+ studies shows nature exposure rapidly calms stress, restores attention, and quiets rumination—key for Canadian student mental health.
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