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Research group The Stenfors Lab

Our work centers around understanding the interconnection between our environments and human health, cognition, wellbeing and behavior, and how to create sustainable places for sustainable people.

We study how environmental factors in the home and workplace location, work life, psychological factors, stress, biological and physiological factors, affect different aspects of health and behavior.

Group description

The research provides important empirical bases for policy and implementation in sustainable urban development and community building, working life, and health care.

Psychological and environmental health research focused on the determinants of cognitive and mental health and behaviour.

Research themes

In the Stenfors Lab we study different aspects of cognitive, mental and physical health and behavior, and how environmental factors, work life, stress, and psychological factors affect these outcomes.

Several projects focus on the role of exposure and access to green-blue environments and other environment exposures in individuals’ living environments, for different health outcomes.

In this research we combine psychological and epidemiological methods with geographic information systems methods, employing primarily experimental study designs and epidemiological studies of longitudinal population-based cohorts.

Some of our research themes are:

The determinants of cognitive (mental) functioning, state performance, health and wellbeing.
The role of external environment factors and internal psychological, biological & physiological processes, in cognition, mental and physical health and wellbeing.
Natural vs urban environment exposures (including e.g. greenspace, blue-space, built space, noise and air pollution).
Physical and psychosocial work environment.
How natural versus urban environment exposures in the living environment (including home and workplace) affect cognitive, mental & physical health outcomes.
How to create sustainable environments which support health, cognition (mental functioning, performance) and wellbeing.

Several current research projects focus on how different natural and urban environment exposures, as well as work life factors, affect cognition, health and wellbeing—both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Open online course, on the interface of human, animal, environmental and planetry health, including a module by Stenfors:

MOOC: "One Health: Pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response" on Coursera

The course contain lectures and modules with international experts from different disciplines.

Take the course on Coursera

Links to selected resources/further reading

Overview of human and environmental health and sustainability nexus (Swedish): Greenspace, nature vs urban environment, mental health, performance and wellbeing, environemntal sustainability, and resilience to crises: socialmedicinsktidskrift.se/index.php/smt/article/view/3043/2859

Nature, mental health, cognition & wellbeing during Covid-19: psyarxiv.com/cjndm and www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3303

Natural environments and cognitive performance: DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01413

Forskningsrapport om förändringar i arbetsförhållanden under Covid-19 pandemin, i olika grupper på den svenska arbetsmarknaden: mynak.se/projekt/coronapandemins-paverkan-pa-arbetsmiljo/svenska-data-om-arbetsmiljo-och-halsa-2012-2022-slosh/

Changes during the Covid-19 pandemic in mental health, life style and work in the Swedish work force, short report by C. Stenfors in UN Academic Impact: www.un.org/en/academic-impact/exploring-effects-mental-health-covid-19-pandemic-and-associated-societal

Overview and research on concentration and memory problems in worklife- The role of working conditions, stress, etc (cognitive overload, distractions, supportive resources etc) on cognitive problems in work life: su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:661638/FULLTEXT01.pdf

The 72 hour Cabin Case study & communication project, The documentary: visitsweden.com/72hcabin/