Mental Health Noncommunicable Diseases
• Research & Reports
What Is Planetary Health?
Brain Health
Our environment shapes neurological function and mental well-being, while resilient brains empower societies to adapt to and mitigate planetary challenges.
1 in 4 dementia deaths worldwide, approximately 626,000 deaths each year, is attributable to air pollution.
Brain health sits at the heart of Planetary Health, reflecting the dynamic relationship between human biology, social systems, and the environments we depend on to survive and thrive. The brain, our organ of cognition, emotion, behavior, and social connection, is uniquely sensitive to environmental conditions shaped by how we steward the planet. Rising temperatures, air and water pollution, extreme weather events, food and water insecurity, ecosystem degradation, and exposure to environmental toxins all affect neurological function, cognitive performance, and mental health across the lifespan.
20-30 minutes in natural environments can significantly improve attention, working memory, and executive function, compared with urban settings.
At the same time, healthy brains enable learning, creativity, cooperation, and collective decision-making, capacities that societies need to adapt to environmental change, design sustainable systems, and respond to crises. When environmental degradation undermines brain health, it weakens individual well-being, social cohesion, productivity, and communities’ ability to respond effectively to planetary challenges. This makes brain health both a vulnerability and a leverage point within the Planetary Health framework.
Our Brain Under Environmental Stress
Scientific evidence increasingly shows that environmental stressors act on the brain through interconnected biological, psychological, and social pathways. Heat stress disrupts sleep, cognition, and mental health; air pollution accelerates cognitive decline and increases the risk of dementia and neurodevelopmental disorders; extreme weather events drive trauma, displacement, and long-lasting effects on mental and cognitive health. These risks are not evenly distributed. Children, older adults, people with pre-existing neurological or mental health conditions, and communities facing socioeconomic disadvantage bear a disproportionate burden. A Planetary Health approach therefore requires centering on equity, prevention, and resilience.
Planetary Health Solutions for Brain Health
Crucially, many Planetary Health solutions are also brain-protective solutions. Cleaner air, climate-resilient food systems, access to green and blue spaces, urban tree canopies, reduced noise and heat exposure, and stronger social infrastructure all support cognitive function, emotional well-being, and neurological health while delivering environmental co-benefits. By explicitly integrating brain health into Planetary Health research, policy, and practice, we can better capture the full human benefits of environmental action and design interventions that strengthen both people and planet.
Resources
Mental Health Youth Voices
• News
Climate Change’s Hidden Mental Toll On Children Think Global Health.
Mental Health Noncommunicable Diseases
• Research & Reports
Environmental Neuroscience Springer Nature Link.
Infectious Diseases Collaboration and Partnerships
Harnessing Community-Based One Health Interventions Implementation Beyond Mpox Outbreak Management in Africa: Insights and Benefits. Infectious Diseases of Poverty.
The article provides critical insights and benefits of community-based One Health approaches implementation against Mpox outbreak management in Africa.
• News
Chemical Pollution Built Environment and Urbanization
Designing Out Plastics: A Blueprint for Healthier Building Materials. Habitable.
Habitable’s new report exposes the widespread use of harmful plastic building materials, linking them to health risks, fire toxicity, and fossil fuel dependence, while offering solutions and showcasing leaders advancing safer, healthier alternatives already available.
• Research & Reports
Nutritional Diseases Climate Change
Rising temperatures increase added sugar intake disproportionately in disadvantaged groups in the USA. Nature Climate Change.
The study links rising temperatures to higher added sugar consumption, mainly from sweetened beverages and frozen desserts. Vulnerable groups face greater increases, with nationwide intake projected to rise significantly under climate change, stressing urgent health adaptations.
• Research & Reports
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)
How socio-psychological drivers prompt the adoption of nature-based solutions: Evidence from Mediterranean dryland ecosystems. Springer Nature Link.
Researchers surveyed citizens across the Mediterranean to identify the socio-psychological and demographic factors influencing public support for adopting Nature-Based Solutions in climate adaptation. Findings show that attitudes, norms, environmental awareness, and socio-demographics significantly shape pro-environmental intentions.
• Research & Reports
Noncommunicable Diseases Nutritional Diseases
Planetary Health Diet and risk of mortality and chronic diseases: Results from US NHANES, UK Biobank, and a meta-analysis. Science Advances.
• Research & Reports
