Time in nature may help some attention tests, but most showed no clear difference

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   The 31 studies covered children, students, adults and some patient groups, such as people with schizophrenia. The review gave no total number of people, and many studies did not report ages.

2. 02

   What they did

   Each group spent time in a natural setting, such as a park, or in a non-natural one, such as a city street. Activities included walking, looking at pictures and relaxing indoors. Some walks lasted about 50 minutes, and some people stayed away for 4 to 7 days.

3. 03

   What happened

   Three attention tests did better after time in nature than after time in a city, though one was borderline. One speed test did better in a city, and the other 10 showed no clear difference. The authors said the real-world gain is unclear, and most results rest on only a few studies.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Across 3 studies, time in nature helped people repeat more digits in order than time in a city did.

   Pooled analysis of 3 studies with 283 people · vs time in a city or another setting without nature · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

2. Helped

   Across 8 studies, time in nature helped people recall more digits backwards than time in a city did.

   Pooled analysis of 8 studies with 615 people · vs time in a city or another setting without nature · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

3. Helped

   Across 3 studies, time in nature sped up a number-and-letter task more than time in a city.

   Pooled analysis of 3 studies with 271 people · vs time in a city or another setting without nature · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

4. No difference

   Across 2 comparisons, time in nature made no clear difference to reaction speed on a quick test.

   Pooled analysis of 2 studies with 96 people · vs time in a city or another setting without nature · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

Source