Outdoor Play Improves Your Child’s Focus
A study published in the August 2008 Journal of Attention Disorders finds that for children with ADHD, a 20-minute walk in a park may improve the ability to concentrate.
The study was conducted at the University of Illinois by child environment and behavior researchers Andrea Faber Taylor and Frances E. Kuo. “From our previous research, we knew there might be a link between spending time in nature and reduced ADHD symptoms,” says Faber Taylor. “So to confirm that link we conducted a study in which we took children on walks in three different settings –- one especially ‘green’ and two less ‘green’ – and kept everything about the walks as similar as possible.”
The Study
The sample size of the study was relatively small - only seventeen children whose ages ranged from 7 to 12 years old. These 17 kids were taken on walks through an urban downtown, a residential neighborhood, and a grassy, tree filled park. Each child took all three walks on various days and after each walk an experimenter (who didn’t know which walk the child had been taken on) assessed attention using a standard test called Digit Span Backwards. In the test a series on numbers are said aloud and the child recites them backwards. It is a test in which practice does not improve performance.
“We compared each child’s performance to their own performance on different walks,” says Faber Taylor. “And when we compared the scores for the walks in different environments, we found that after the walk in the park children generally concentrated better than they did after a walk in the downtown area or the neighborhood area. The greenest space was best at improving attention after exposure.”
Green is Good
“What this particular study tells us is that the physical environment matters,” explains Faber Taylor. “We don’t know what it is about the park, exactly –- the greenness or lack of buildings – that seems to improve attention, but the study tells us that even though everything else was the same –- who the child was with, the levels of noise, the length of time, the time of day, whether the child was on medication – if we kept everything else the same, we just changed the environment, we still saw a measurable difference in children’s symptoms. And that’s completely new. No one has done a study looking at a child in different environments, in a controlled comparison where everything else is the same.”
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Medication vs Nature
During the walks, all of the children were un-medicated. Those children who normally took medications to help manage their ADHD symptoms did not receive this medication on the days of the walks. Interestingly, Faber and Kuo found that a “dose of nature” may be as helpful – at least for awhile – as a dose of stimulants. “We calculated the size of the effect in our study and compared it to the size of effects in a recent medication study,” says Faber Taylor, “and we were surprised to see that the dose of nature had effects the same size or even larger than the dose of medication.” It is unclear, however, how long the effects of a dose of nature last.
Supplementary Treatment
“We have no objective performance data showing the effects of ‘nature doses’ lasting long enough to be of practical use in managing ADHD symptoms,” acknowledge Faber Taylor and Kuo. Nevertheless, incorporating outdoor play in nature may be an effective supplement to other treatment approaches for ADHD. Sending kids outdoors to play is easy, does not have any adverse effects and is not associated with the social stigma attached to other treatments. It also has other positive side effects, including increased physical activity and lower rates of obesity.
“I could imagine parents hearing about this research and immediately applying it –- just trying it out –- taking their child to the park either when their child’s symptoms are exacerbated or as a regular routine. It’s not that hard to incorporate, especially if they have a green backyard or if they can get to a neighborhood park,” says Faber Taylor. “Again, we can’t say for sure that it would work for any given child – but there’s probably very little risk involved in encouraging your child to play outdoors and seeing if their symptoms improve.”
Additional Reading:
Simple Strategies for Your ADHD Child
ADHD and Exercise
ADHD and Nutrition
The Three C’s of Parenting
Treating the Whole Child
Improve Peer Relationships
Sources:
Andrea Faber Taylor and Frances E. Kuo. Children With Attention Deficits Concentrate Better After Walk in the Park. Journal of Attention Disorders. 25, Aug. 2008.
Los Angeles Times. Easing ADHD is a Walk in the Park. Health. 16 Oct. 2008.
Science Daily. A Walk in the Park Improves Attention in Children with ADHD. Science News. 15 Oct. 2008.
