Cecilia Stenfors Universitetslektor, forskare, docent

Stenfors is an associate professor, researcher, university lecturer and research leader of the Stenfors Lab, in the Psychobiology/Epidemiology division and the Work- & Organizational Psychology division, at the Department of Psychology, Stockholm University.

Research focus broadly concern the nexus of human, environmental, and planetary sustainability and health. The interconnection between our environments and human health, cognition and wellbeing, and how to create sustainable places for sustainable people.

Research broadly concern:

• The determinants of cognitive (mental) functioning, state performance, mental health and wellbeing
• How to create healty environments which support health, cognition (mental functioning, performance) and wellbeing
• The role of external environment factors and internal psychological, biological & physiological processes, in cognition, health and wellbeing, incl.:
• Natural vs urban environment exposures
• Pro-environmental attitudes and behavior: determinants and interventions
• Physical and psychosocial work environment 

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

Open online course, on the interface of human, non-human animal, environmental and planetary health, with one module by Stenfors:

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

The course contail lectures and modules with international experts from different disciplines. Read more about the course at the Federation of European Academies of Medicine here. 

Take the course here on Coursera.

Links to selected resources/further reading:

Residential greenspace and mental health:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204624001087?via%3Dihub

Residential greenspace and sleep:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116085

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: https://socialmedicinsktidskrift.se/index.php/smt/article/view/3043/2859

Nature, mental health, cognition & wellbeing during COVID-19:

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-024-02230-1

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3303 

Natural environments and cognitive performance:

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01413

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

Forskningsrapport omförändringar i arbetsförhållanden under COVID-19 pandemin, i olika grupper på den svenska arbetsmarknaden: https://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: https://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: http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:661638/FULLTEXT01.pdf

The 72 hour cabin case study & communication project, The documentary: https://visitsweden.com/72hcabin/

Background

After obtaining my doctoral degree, I was a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Chicago in the Environmental Neuroscience Lab and post-doctoral researcher at the Aging Research Center at Karolinska Institutet, funded by the Swedish Research Council, where my research focused on the topics described above.

Funding

The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working life, and Welfare (FORTE)

The Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas)

Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap

Region Stockholm

Folkhälsomyndigheten

Myndigheten för Arbetsmiljökunskap, Mynak

The Swedish Research Council (VR)

Members of the Stenfors Lab

Tianwei Xu, PhD

Yannick Klein, PhD, alumni

Johanna Stengård, PhD

Lina Rådmark, PhD, alumni

Collaborators

Statistics Sweden

SMHI

Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institute & Stockholm University

The Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Sweden.

Centre for occupational and environmental medicin, Region Stockholm.

Center for Social Sustainability, Karolinska Institute, Sweden.

School of public health and community medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy & University of Gothenburg.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

University of Chicago, IL, USA.

University of Washington, WA, USA.

Stanford University, CA, USA.

University of Bristish Columbia, BC, Canada.

INSERM and Montpellier University, France.

Mälardalens Högskola.

Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden.

The Royal Academy of Music, Stockholm, Sweden.

Education & training

Stenfors earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK (2007), and Doctoral degree in Psychology at the Department of Psychology and the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University. She studied statistical methods at the ICPSR at the University of Michigan as part of her doctoral training, and did fMRI training at the University of Michigan, as part of post-doctoral training.

Research methods used include epidemiological, experimental, as well as qualitative study designs and analyses.

Publications

Sdona, E., Pyko, A., Stenfors, C., Asker, C., Azzouz, M., Oudin, A., Sommar, J.N., Svartengren, M., Ögren, M., Ljungman, P., Stockfelt, L., & Löhmus, M. (2025) The “things” we adjust for in greenness epidemiology: relationships between greenness and lifestyle and environmental factors in the Swedish SCAPIS cohort. Environment International, 109876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109876 

Olofsson, M., Osika, W., Goldberg, S.B., Hendricks, P.S., Petrovic, P., White, T., Stenfors, C.U., Chaturvedi, S. and Simonsson, O. (2026) Difficulties following naturalistic psychedelic use and associations with adverse childhood experiences. International Journal of Drug Policy, 148, p.105105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.105105

Stenfors, C. U. D. (2025) The role of residential greenspace qualities and behaviour related exposures for mental health outcomes in population-based cohort studies. International Conference in Environmental Psychology, Vilnius, Lithuania, 15-18 June 2025. Link

Klein, Y., Nilsen, I. B. R., Lindfors, P., Magnusson Hanson, L., and Stenfors, C. U. D. (2025) Nature visits buffered against loneliness during COVID-19, especially among those mainly working remotely. A population-based study of working adults in Sweden. Journal of Public Health, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-025-02465-6

Stenfors, C. U. D., Osika, W., Mundaca, L., Ruprecht, S., Ramstetter, L. & Wamsler, C. (2025) Nature Connectedness and other Transformative Qualities Associated with Pro-Environmental Attitudes, Behaviours and Engagement across Scales – the Direction of Compassion Matters. Global Sustainability 2025;8:e15, Camridge University Press. doi:10.1017/sus.2025.15  

Simonsson, O., Chaturvedi, S., Hendricks, P.S., Stenfors, C.U.D., Osika, W., Narayanan, J., Palitsky, R. and Goldberg, S.B. (2025). Associations between psychedelic-related and meditation-related variables: a longitudinal study. Journal of Psychiatric Research 184, 457-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.03.025

Simonsson, O., Goldberg, S. B., Osika, W., Stenfors, C. U. D., Chaturvedi, S.,  Swords, C., Narayanan, J., Hendricks, P. S. (2025) Longitudinal Associations of Naturalistic Psychedelic Use with Psychotic and Manic Symptoms. Psychological Medicine,2025;55:e99. doi:10.1017/S0033291725000716

Stenfors, C. U. D., Stengård, J., Klein, Y., Nilsen, I. (2024) The role of greenspace qualities at the nexus of human health and environmental sustainability and resilience to climate change and biodiversity loss. The 28th IAPS International Conference Association for People-environment Studies, Barcelona, 2 – 5 July. Link

Stenfors, C. U. D., L Rådmark, L., Stengård, J., Klein, Y., Osika, W., Hanson, L. M. (2024) More green, less depressed: Residential greenspace is associated with lower antidepressant redemptions in a nationwide population-based study. Landscape and Urban Planning 249, 105109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2024.105109

Klein, Y., Lindfors, P., Hanson, L. M., & Stenfors, C. U. D. (2024). Development of nature-related habits and their relation to mental health outcomes during two years of the COVID-19 pandemic: A population-based study in Sweden. Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-024-02230-1

Honk, L., Stenfors, C. U. D., Goldberg, S. B., Hendricks, P. S., Osika, W., Dourron, H. M., Lebedev, A., Petrovic, P. & Simonsson, O. (2024). Longitudinal associations between psychedelic use and psychotic symptoms in the United States and the United Kingdom. Journal of Affective Disorders, 351, 194-201. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032724002180

Simonsson, O, Osika, W, Stenfors, C U D, Goldberg, S, Honk, L, & Hendricks, P. (2024) Longitudinal associations between psychedelic use and meditation practices in the United States and the United Kingdom, Psychological Medicine, 54(6):1228-1234. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723003082 

Stenfors, C. U. D. (2023). Vår relation till naturen -  ett nexus för mänsklig, ekologisk och planetär hållbarhet, samt resiliens vid kriser. Socialmedicinsk tidskrift, 100(3), 509-524.
https://socialmedicinsktidskrift.se/index.php/smt/article/view/3043/2859

Stenfors, C. U. D, Stengård, J., Osika, W., Hanson, L. M.  The role of residential greenspace qualities and it’s closeness for mental health and sleep outcomes: Results from longitudinal studies on nationwide population-based cohorts in Sweden with fine-grained assessments.
17th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine, From Local to Global: Behavior, Climate and Health, Vancouver, Canada, August 23-26, 2023. Link

Klein, Y, Lindfors, P, Hanson, L M, & Stenfors, C U D. Nature-related habits and their development and relation to mental health outcomes during the covid-19 pandemic: a population-based study in Sweden. 17th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine, From Local to Global: Behavior, Climate and Health, Vancouver, Canada, August 23-26, 2023.

Stenfors, C. U. D., Rådmark, L., Stengård, J., Klein, Y., Osika, W., & Hanson, L. M. (2023). More green, less blue: Residential Greenspace is Associated with Lower Antidepressant Redemptions in a Nationwide Population-Based Study—Need for an Environmental Psychiatry Framework. PsyArXiv, DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/k6mev, https://psyarxiv.com/k6mev/

Stenfors, C. U. D., Stengård J, Magnusson Hanson L, Kecklund L-G, & Westerlund H. (2023) Green Sleep: Immediate residential greenspace and access to larger green areas are associated with better sleep quality, in a longitudinal population-based cohort. Environmental Research, Vol 234, 116085, ISSN 0013-9351,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116085

Otto Simonsson, Cecilia U. D. Stenfors, Simon B Goldberg, Peter S Hendricks and Walter Osika (2023) Altered States of Leadership: Mindfulness Meditation, Classic Psychedelics, and Leadership Development, Frontiers in Psychology, 14: 1151626, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1151626, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10354271/

Magnusson Hanson L, Stenfors C.U.D, Wijkander M, Blomqvist S, & Westerlund H (2023) Arbetsmiljön före och under Covid-19 pandemin i ett urval av den arbetande befolkningen i Sverige: The Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health. [Organizational & Psychosocial work environment within the Swedish Labour market during the Corona pandemic]. Original research project and report, commissioned by the Swedish government through the Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise, original research report. https://mynak.se/projekt/coronapandemins-paverkan-pa-arbetsmiljo/svenska-data-om-arbetsmiljo-och-halsa-2012-2022-slosh/

Ramstetter L, Rupprecht S, Mundaca L, Osika W, Stenfors C U D., Klackl J, and Wamsler C (2023) Fostering collective climate action and leadership: Insights from a pilot experiment with a behavioral intervention involving mindfulness and compassion, iScience, 26(3), 106191, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223002687

Pöllänen, E.; Osika, W.; Stenfors, C.U.D.; Simonsson, O. (2022) Classic Psychedelics and Human–Animal Relations. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19, 8114. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138114

Klein, Y., Lindfors, P., Osika, W., Magnusson Hanson, L. L., & Stenfors, C. U. D. (2022). Residential Greenspace Is Associated with Lower Levels of Depressive and Burnout Symptoms, and Higher Levels of Life Satisfaction: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Sweden. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19(9), 5668. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9100967/

Berman, M.G., Stenfors, C.U.D., Schertz, K.E., & Meidenbauer, K.L. (2021). Response to “Conceptual replication study and meta-analysis suggest simulated nature does not reliably restore pure executive attention measured by the Attention Network Task”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 78:101719. ISSN 0272-4944. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101719 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494421001729?via%3Dihub

Stenfors, C.U.D., Magnusson Hanson, L. Leineweber, C. & Westerlund, H. (Feb 2021) "Arbetsförhållanden, levnadsvanor och hälsa före respektive efter Covid-19 pandemins början: En longitudinell kohortstudie av den svenska arbetande befolkningen” ["Working conditions, living habits and health before and after the Covid-19 pandemic: A longitudinal cohort study of Swedish working adults"] Governmental research report.

Lõhmus, M., Stenfors, C.U.D, Lind, T., Lauber, A., & Georgelis, A. (2021). Mental Health, Greenness, and Nature Related Behaviors in the Adult Population of Stockholm County during COVID-19-Related Restrictions. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18(6), 3303. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3303

Troije CP, Jensen EL, Stenfors C, Danielsson CB, Hoff E, Mårtensson F and Toivanen S (2021) Outdoor Office Work – An Interactive Research Project Showing the Way Out. Front. in Psychol. 12:636091.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636091/full

Andersson; C., Stenfors, C., Lilliengren, P., Einhorn, S. & Osika, W. (2021) Benevolence – Associations with Stress, Mental Health and Self-Compassion at the workplace. Frontiers in Psychology 12:568625. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.568625

Meidenbauer, K., Stenfors, C.U.D., Gregory N. Bratman, G.N., Gross, J.J., Kathryn E. Schertz, K. E., Choe, K.W., Berman, M.G. (2020) The Affective Benefits of Nature Exposure: What’s Nature Got to Do with It? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 101498, ISSN 0272-4944. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494420306630 Open access at: https://psyarxiv.com/92w6f

Stenfors, C.U.D, Van Hedger, S. C., Schertz, K. E., Meyer, F., Smith, K. E., Norman, G., Bourrier, S. C., Enns, J. T., Kardan, O., Jonides, J., & Berman, M. G. (2019) Positive effects of nature on cognitive performance across multiple experiments: Test order but not affect modulates the cognitive effects. Frontiers in Psychology, 10:1413. Open acces at https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01413

Meidenbauer, K.L., Stenfors, C.U.D., Young, J., Layden, E.A., Schertz, K.E., Kardan, O., Decety, J. and Berman, M.G., (2019). The gradual development of the preference for natural environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, p.101328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.101328 Open access at: https://psyarxiv.com/7hw83/

Meidenbauer, K.L., Stenfors, C.U.D., Ingram, M., & Berman, M. (2019) A tablet-based task for assessing environmental preferences in children and adults. Methods X, 6, 1901-1906. Open access at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2019.08.002

Petersson C, Toivanen S, Stenfors C, Bodin Danielsson C, Mårtensson F, Hoff E, Lisberg Jensen E. (2019) Outdoor Office Work – hur funkar det? Forum för Arbetslivsforskning (FALF). ISBN: 978-91-7685-016-9

Stenfors, C. (2018). Naturliga vägar till mänsklig, social och ekologisk hållbarhet. Socialmedicinsk tidskrift, 95(2), 141-149. https://socialmedicinsktidskrift.se/index.php/smt/article/view/1749/1635

Persson, J., & Stenfors, C. (2018). Superior cognitive goal maintenance in carriers of genetic markers linked to reduced striatal D2 receptor density (C957T and DRD2/ANKK1-TaqIA). PloS one, 13(8), e0201837. PMID: 30125286.

Bäcklander, G., Rosengren, C., Falkman, L.L., Stenfors, C., Seddigh, A., Osika, W. and Stenström, E. (2018). Navigating the Activity Based Working Environment–Relationships of Self-Leadership, Autonomy and Information Richness with Cognitive Stress and Performance. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 3(1).

Horwitz, E. B., Stenfors, C., & Osika, W. (2018). Writer's Block Revisited: A Micro-Phenomenological Case Study on the Blocking Influence of an Internalized Voice. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 25(3-4), 9-28.

Stenfors, C., Jonsdottir, I., Magnusson Hanson, L.L., Theorell, T. (2017) Associations between systemic pro-inflammatory markers, cognitive function and cognitive complaints in a population-based sample of working adults. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 96, 49-59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.03.010. PMID: 28545793.

Stenfors, C., Theorell, T., Magnusson Hanson, L. & Osika, W. (2016). Executive Cognitive Functioning & Cardiovascular Autonomic Regulation in a Population-Based sample of Working Adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1536. PMID: 27761124.

Seddigh, A, Stenfors, C., Berntson, E, Bååth, R, Sikström, S, & H, Westerlund. (2015) The association between office design and performance on demanding cognitive tasks, Journal of Environmental Psychology.

Stenfors, C, Marklund, P, Hanson, LLM, Theorell, T, Nilsson, L-G. (2014) Are subjective cognitive complaints related to memory functioning in the working population? BMC Psychology, 2:3.

Stenfors C, Marklund P, Magnusson Hanson LL, Theorell T, Nilsson L-G (2013). Subjective Cognitive Complaints and the Role of Executive Cognitive Functioning in the Working Population: A Case-Control Study. PLoS ONE 8(12): e83351. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083351.

PMID: 24386185.

Stenfors, C, Hanson, LLM, Theorell, T, Oxenstierna, G, & Nilsson, L-G (2013). Psychosocial Working Conditions and Cognitive Complaints among Swedish Employees. PLoS ONE, 8(4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060637. PMID: 23560101.

Bojner Horwitz, E, Stenfors, C, and Osika, W. (2013) Contemplative inquiry in movement- Managing writer's block in academic writing. International journal of transpersonal psychology.

Oxenstierna, G, Magnusson Hanson, LL, Widmark, M, Finnholm, K, Stenfors, C, Elofsson, S, and Theorell,T. (2011) Conflicts at Work- The Relationship with Workplace Factors, Work Characteristics and Self-rated Health. Industrial Health, 49:4, pp. 501-510.

BOOKS/CHAPTERS/OTHER ARTICLES

Stenfors C, Bojner Horwitz E, Theorell T, Osika W. (2018) Similarities, disparities, and synergies with other complex interventions. DOI: 10.1093/med/9780198725916.003.0029 . Chapter 4.3. in: Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health - The Role of Nature in Improving the Health of a Population. Editors: M. van den Bosch & W. Bird. Oxford University Press.

https://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780198725916.001.0001/med-9780198725916-chapter-29

The textbook is available as an E-resource at the Stockholm University Library.

Stenfors, C. (2014) Hjärnhälsa- om stress och stärkande aktiviteter. Bokkapitel i Kulturhälsoboxen, red. Eva Bojner Horwitz. Gothia förlag.

Stenfors, C. (2013) Subjective cognitive complaints in the working population- the influence of cognitive functioning and working conditions. Doctoral thesis in Psychology, Stockholm University.