Washington National Cathedral

The Sunday Forum: Critical Issues in the Light of Faith

The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, host

Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III converses with Dr. Esther Sternberg about “Exploring Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Wellbeing.”

Lloyd opens with the overarching questions, “Can physical space actually have an impact on our health? And, if so, where do we find the spaces that provide healing and sustenance?”

Sternberg uses the Cathedral’s own beauty as an example of a healing space. “You can look at the details. You can look at that beautiful rose window, or you can look at those arches,” she says. “But that’s not what your brain is immediately perceiving. When you walk into this space, you feel a sense of awe.”

The brain releases chemicals that “can affect how your immune system does its job,” Sternberg says. She cites a study: post-surgical patients healed more quickly if their hospital windows looked out onto nature. Patients with a view of a brick wall healed more slowly.

A healing space need not be a beautiful or majestic spot, however. “It can be a tiny space between two individuals,” Sternberg points out. And, of course, human beings remember the link between a setting and the experiences they have there—the sights, smells, and other sensations. These links are not always favorable. Whereas good experiences can promote healing and boost the body’s immunity, scientists are also discovering that bad experiences can adversely affect healing and immunity.

About Esther Sternberg

Based at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Esther Sternberg is internationally recognized for her work in brain-immune interactions and the effects of the brain’s stress response on health: the science of mind-body interaction. In addition to numerous scientific publications, she has authored two popular books, The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health Emotions and the recently published Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-being. Dr. Sternberg lectures nationally and internationally to both lay and scientific audiences on the mind-body connection, stress and illness, place and well-being, and other subjects.