I have a plant on a shelf right next to my desk.
It’s not big. It’s not particularly impressive. It’s a lilac-toned succulent, one of those that hardly needs care.
But when I spend too many hours in front of the screen, when I feel like my head is going to explode, when the internal noise is unbearable... I look at the plant.
Just that. Looking at it.
And something in my body relaxes. It loosens up. It breathes.
It’s not magic. It’s not suggestion.
It’s biophilia.
It’s my nervous system recognizing something alive, something that grows, something that demands nothing. And regulating itself with that.
For years I didn’t give it importance. I thought it was coincidence. Until I understood that my body needs contact with the living to avoid collapsing.
That nature is not a luxury. It’s medicine.
And that for neurodivergent individuals, this contact can be the difference between regulation and chaos.
What happens in your body when you touch the earth?
When was the last time you felt water falling?
WHAT IS BIOPHILIA (AND WHY DOES IT MATTER)
Biophilia is our innate connection with the living.
The term was popularized by biologist Edward O. Wilson, but the idea is much older: humans have evolved in nature. Our nervous system is calibrated to respond to it.
To natural light. To the sound of water. To the movement of leaves. To the texture of wood. To the smell of wet earth.
These stimuli are not neutral for our brain. They are signals of safety.
For millions of years, finding water meant survival. Seeing green meant resources. Hearing birds meant absence of danger.
And even though we now live in cities, surrounded by concrete and screens, our nervous system continues to respond to these ancestral signals.
For neurodivergent individuals, whose nervous systems are already in constant alert, in permanent sensory overload, in daily struggle against dysregulation... biophilia is not decoration or a style.
It is direct regulation.
It is short-circuiting internal chaos with information that the body recognizes as safe.
"Biophilia is not an aesthetic preference; it is a neurobiological response that activates parasympathetic regulation systems."
— Research on biophilia and mental health, Kellert & Wilson
WHAT NATURE DOES TO YOUR HEART RATE
There are studies that demonstrate this precisely:
Just 20 minutes of contact with nature significantly reduces cortisol (the stress hormone).
You don’t need to go to the mountains. A park is enough. A garden. Sitting near a tree. Having a biophilic design at home.
Your heart rate decreases. Your breathing becomes deeper. Your sympathetic nervous system (the one for alertness, fight, flight) turns down a bit. And the parasympathetic (the one for rest, digestion, regulation) activates.
For a neurodivergent person living with the sympathetic system constantly activated, this is pure gold.
Because you don't need "relaxation techniques." You don't need to breathe consciously or visualize anything.
You just need to be near something alive.
And your body does the rest.
"Contact with natural environments automatically reduces sympathetic nervous system activation, without the need for cognitive effort."
— Studies in environmental psychology, Ulrich & cols.
MEMORY, EMOTIONAL REGULATION, AND NATURE
There is more.
Contact with nature not only calms. It also improves memory, attention, and emotional regulation.
Why?
Because when your nervous system is constantly on alert, your prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain that manages memory, planning, regulation) doesn't function well. It is "hijacked" by the amygdala, the part that detects danger.
But when you lower the alert, when your body feels safe... the prefrontal cortex reconnects.
And suddenly, you can think more clearly. Remember better. Regulate your emotions without collapsing.
That's why there are neurodivergent children who cannot concentrate in a closed classroom, but can do so sitting under a tree.
It's not a lack of will. It's neurology.
"Exposure to natural environments restores directed attention capacity and improves executive functions."
— Attention Restoration Theory, Kaplan & Kaplan
MOTOR SKILLS AND NATURE: THE BODY THAT LEARNS BY TOUCHING
Now imagine this:
A five-year-old child with motor difficulties. They cannot hold a pencil. They are not ready yet. In the classroom, they are given repetitive exercises: lines, circles, strokes. And each attempt is frustration.
Now imagine them in a garden.
You give them a natural sponge. You invite them to submerge it in a container of cold water.
The contact with the cold liquid is already a first proprioceptive stimulus. Their body receives clear information: temperature, weight, texture.
Then you guide them to squeeze the sponge over an aromatic plant. Perhaps rosemary.
They need to squeeze. Coordinate their fingers. Control the force.
And while they do it, the water falls between their fingers. The smell of rosemary fills the air (associated, by the way, with improved memory according to studies in aromatherapy).
They are observing how they nourish a living being.
They are practicing fine motor skills. But in a experiential, natural, direct, fun.
Nothing to do with a repetitive exercise in a classroom.
And at the same time, extremely therapeutic.
"Motor learning in natural contexts is more effective because it integrates multisensory information coherently and meaningfully."
— Verònica Martín
TEXTURE PATHS: INFORMATION FOR THE HYPOSENSITIVE BODY
Now imagine a hyposensitive girl walking along a texture path.
Rounded stones. Sticks. Sand. Grass. Tree bark.
Each step is different information that reaches their feet.
Their nervous system, which usually needs intense stimuli to feel, is receiving constant, changing, rich data.
It is not an exercise. It is exploration.
And their body is learning to process sensory information in an integrated, natural way, without forcing.
This is biophilic design applied to neurodivergence.
It is not about "putting plants because they look nice".
It is about creating environments that give the nervous system what it needs to regulate itself.
"Biophilic design is not aesthetics: it is sensory architecture serving neurological regulation."
— Verònica Martín
The stressed adult and the sound of water
And now imagine an adult.
Stress levels through the roof. Weeks without sleeping well. The body in permanent tension.
They are sitting on a bench. In a park. Or on the sofa of their own home.
And they listen to a water fountain.
They do not have to do anything. Just listen.
The sound of water is one of the most regulating stimuli that exist. It is constant but not monotonous. It is unpredictable but not chaotic.
And it automatically activates parasympathetic responses.
The heart rate decreases. Breathing becomes deeper. Muscle tension relaxes.
It's not a placebo. It's biology.
And it's accessible. Because you don't need a waterfall in the middle of the forest.
A small fountain at home is enough. Or a rain audio. Or sitting by a river.
The body does not distinguish. It responds to sensory information.
"The sound of water activates neural networks associated with calm and safety, regardless of the urban or natural context."
— Research in psychoacoustics and regulation, Alvarsson & colleagues.
BIOPHILIC DESIGN AT HOME: NO NEED FOR A GARDEN
Here is the good news: biophilic design does not require outdoor space.
It can be integrated into any home:
- Real plants (it doesn't matter if they are small)
- Natural materials: wood, stone, natural fibers
- Natural light (and if that's not possible, lighting that mimics circadian cycles)
- Natural sounds: water features, nature recordings
- Views of natural elements (even if it's a pot on the windowsill)
- Organic textures: wicker baskets, wool blankets, jute rugs
All of this is sensory information that regulates.
And for neurodivergent individuals, it can be the difference between a space that drains and a space that supports.
"Biophilic design transforms the home into an environment of constant regulation, not just a place to be."
— Verònica Martín
To wrap up...
Nature asks nothing of you.
It does not demand that you understand. It does not need you to explain yourself.
It simply offers you information that your body recognizes as safe.
And this, for a neurodivergent nervous system neurodivergent that lives in constant alert, I repeat, is medicine.
Do you have plants at home?
When was the last time you touched the earth?
Is there any natural sound that calms you?
You don't have to go to the countryside or the beach. It's enough to bring a bit of the living into your space.
Your body will thank you.
Veròica Martín
Director of ATIPICOS.org and A-tipic Biointeriors