Why City Living is Breaking Your Brain and How To Fix It
City life takes a toll on the mind. If you live in an urban area, your brain is under more pressure than you realize. Research shows that city dwellers are 21% more likely to develop anxiety disorders and 40% more prone to mood disorders compared to those in rural areas. Noise, crowds, and constant pressure wear down the brain in ways we weren’t built for.
But here’s the good news: you don’t have to be a victim of urban burnout. The very energy that makes cities overwhelming also makes them hubs for opportunity, growth, and deep human connection — if you know how to navigate it.
Meet Emilija Švindt, Head of Research and Strategy at JAG, specializing in cognitive neuroscience and urban health. She has spent years studying how our brains adapt to different environments, with a focus on mental well-being and reducing suffering in modern life.
Today, we spotlight Emilija on fini’s blog with one mission: to help you reclaim control, optimize your mental well-being, and turn city stress into a personal advantage.
Evolutionary Mismatch: Why Cities Stress Us Out
Your brain wasn’t built for city life. For over 95% of human history, humans lived as hunter-gatherers—thriving in small, close-knit groups, surrounded by nature, and guided by natural rhythms of light, movement, and social connection. This era, known as the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA), shaped how our brains function.
Then, everything changed. Agriculture transformed our diet, cities reshaped social structures, and industrialization threw us into a world radically different from the one we evolved for. As psychologist Stephen Ilardi put it:
“Human beings were never designed for the poorly nourished, sedentary, indoor, sleep-deprived, socially isolated, frenzied pace of twenty-first-century life.”
This shift wasn’t gradual — it happened in a blink of an eye, evolutionarily speaking. The consequences?
Our genes didn’t have time to adapt, leaving us wired for an environment that no longer exists.
Chronic diseases skyrocketed—conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease surged after the agricultural and industrial revolutions (Cordain et al., 2005).
Hunter-gatherer populations—who still live in environments closer to our ancestral past—show dramatically lower rates of these diseases than Western populations (O’Keefe et al., 2010).
And if it affects the body, it must affect the brain. Urban environments, with their sensory overload, social fragmentation, and lack of nature, are a perfect storm of mismatch triggers. Research shows that city dwellers have heightened activity in the amygdala, the brain’s stress-processing center (Lederbogen et al., 2011). Urbanization has disrupted deep social bonds, detached us from natural rhythms, and imposed relentless cognitive demands — all factors that perfectly contribute to rising rates of depression, anxiety, and burnout.
Despite advances in medicine and technology, mental health issues are more widespread than ever. But there’s a way forward. Our brains and bodies are adaptable—and you don’t have to abandon city life to reclaim balance.
Now, let’s get into science-backed ways to thrive in the urban jungle.
Emilija Švindt
Head of Research and Strategy at JAG
In her hometown of Vilnius, Lithuania.
City Life Survival Guide: Science-Backed Hacks for Thriving in the Urban Jungle
Living in a city doesn’t mean sacrificing your well-being. By making small, strategic changes, you can counteract urban stress without overhauling your life overnight. Here’s how:
1. Strengthen Social Bonds (Yes, Even with Strangers)
Why It Matters
We didn’t evolve to live in isolation. Our ancestors relied on deep social connections for survival, and our brains are still wired that way. Chronic loneliness increases the risk of early death by 26% — making it just as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015).
How to Do It
Start a conversation with a stranger — yes, even a barista or a neighbor.
Join a local event, club, or volunteer group.
Reconnect: Send a text, schedule a coffee, or call an old friend.
Science Says
Social interaction triggers dopamine and oxytocin, which reduce stress, improve mood, and boost resilience (Beutel et al., 2017).
2. Optimize Sleep: Magnesium, Blackout Curtains & White Noise
Why It Matters
Before artificial lighting and endless city noise, we slept in total darkness, free from blue light and sound pollution. Now, sleep deprivation spikes cortisol levels and increases anxiety risk by 17% (Walker, 2017).
How to Do It
Magnesium at 7 PM – calms the nervous system and preps the body for rest.
Blackout curtains – block out artificial light that disrupts melatonin production.
White noise machine – drowns out city chaos, promoting deep, uninterrupted sleep.
Science Says
Magnesium reduces stress hormones, improves sleep quality, and enhances cognitive function (Abbasi et al., 2012).
3. Get 20+ Minutes of Sunlight & Nature Daily
Why It Matters
Our ancestors spent 90% of their time outdoors, but modern life keeps us indoors — disrupting our circadian rhythms, serotonin production, and overall mental health.
How to Do It
Spend at least 20 minutes outside daily — a morning walk, lunch outdoors, or even standing on a balcony counts.
Prioritize green spaces — parks, tree-lined streets, or botanical gardens can lower stress levels.
Science Says
Sunlight boosts serotonin, regulates sleep, and reduces depression risk (Terman & Terman, 2005).
4. Eat Like a Human, Not a Science Experiment
Why It Matters
The modern diet is filled with ultra-processed, artificial foods that wreak havoc on mental and physical health. Our brains evolved on whole foods rich in omega-3s, fiber, and essential nutrients — not synthetic additives and sugar overload.
How to Do It
Prioritize omega-3-rich foods (salmon, walnuts, flaxseeds).
Swap ultra-processed snacks for whole, unprocessed alternatives.
Reduce added sugar — it disrupts energy, mood, and cognitive function.
Science Says
Omega-3s reduce depression symptoms, improve cognitive function, and support brain health (Peet & Horrobin, 2002).
Reclaim Your Balance in the City
City life doesn’t have to be a constant battle against stress. With the right tools, you can turn urban chaos into an advantage — leveraging its opportunities while protecting your mental and physical well-being. The key isn’t escape, but adaptation.
By making small but intentional changes, you can rewire your brain to handle city life with more ease, resilience, and energy. The best part? You don’t have to figure it out alone.
Join Emilija’s curated challenges on fini — where science-backed strategies meet real-world action. Start with one shift, feel the difference, and watch as balance finds its way back into your life.
References
Abbasi, B., Kimiagar, M., Sadeghniiat, K., Shirazi, M. M., Hedayati, M., & Rashidkhani, B. (2012). The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 17(12), 1161–1169. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3890922/
Beutel, M. E., Klein, E. M., Brähler, E., Reiner, I., Jünger, C., Michal, M., Wiltink, J., Wild, P. S., Münzel, T., Lackner, K., & Tibubos, A. N. (2017). Loneliness in the general population: Prevalence, determinants and relations to mental health. BMC Psychiatry, 17, Article 97. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1262-x
Cordain, L., Eaton, S. B., Sebastian, A., Mann, N., Lindeberg, S., Watkins, B. A., O'Keefe, J. H., & Brand-Miller, J. (2005). Origins and evolution of the Western diet: Health implications for the 21st century. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 81(2), 341–354. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn.81.2.341
Damm, J. F. (2023). Revitalisation – A Framework for Mental Health Based on the Evolutionary-Mismatch Paradigm.Aalborg University. [Emilija’s private academic database, closed access]
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 227–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614568352
Ilardi, S. S. (2009). The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs. Da Capo Lifelong Books.
Lederbogen, F., Kirsch, P., Haddad, L., Streit, F., Tost, H., Schuch, P., Wüst, S., Pruessner, J. C., Rietschel, M., Deuschle, M., & Meyer-Lindenberg, A. (2011). City living and urban upbringing affect neural social stress processing in humans. Nature, 474(7352), 498–501. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10190
O'Keefe, J. H., Vogel, R., Lavie, C. J., & Cordain, L. (2010). Achieving hunter-gatherer fitness in the 21st century: Back to the future. The American Journal of Medicine, 123(10), 1082–1086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2010.04.026
Peet, M., & Horrobin, D. F. (2002). A dose-ranging study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with ongoing depression despite apparently adequate treatment with standard drugs. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59(10), 913–919. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.59.10.913
Terman, M., & Terman, J. S. (2005). Light therapy for seasonal and nonseasonal depression: Efficacy, protocol, safety, and side effects. CNS Spectrums, 10(8), 647–663. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1092852900019611
Walker, M. P. (2017). Why we sleep: Unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. Scribner.