Research on restorative environments has long examined the benefits of nature exposure for people whose resources have been depleted due to a situation that is too demanding for the individual. We... Show moreResearch on restorative environments has long examined the benefits of nature exposure for people whose resources have been depleted due to a situation that is too demanding for the individual. We argue that people's resources can also be taxed in understimulating situations, in which there is a lack of sensory, cognitive, social and/or behavioral stimulation, leading to a need for recovery. Exploring this phenomenon forms the main objective of this study. Given the potential benefits that contact with nature in educational centres has for children, we chose young children (N = 145, Mage = 9.34) at school as participants. We conducted a 3 (stimulation: under, over, and control) by 2 (environments: natural, urban) by 3 (time: before stimulation treatment, just after, and after exposure to environment) mixed-mode experiment. The environments were simulated through a series of slides presented on a screen in the classrooms where also the initial part of the experiment took place. Our results show that both under- and overstimulating situations are taxing for children's capacity for attention, and that understimulation decreases children's positive affect. After overstimulation, exposure to natural scenes restored attentional capacities, while exposure to urban scenes did not. After understimulation, exposure to any of the environments (nature; urban) restored children's attentional capabilities and lifted their mood. Future research could focus especially on low stimulation/low meaning situations to better understand their negative effects on attention and mood. Show less
Rosa, C.D.; Fried, E.I.; Larson, L.R.; Collado, S. 2022
One of the most documented effects of exposure to nature is physical and psychological restoration. Restoration refers to the recovery or strengthening of adaptive resources (e.g., attentional... Show moreOne of the most documented effects of exposure to nature is physical and psychological restoration. Restoration refers to the recovery or strengthening of adaptive resources (e.g., attentional capabilities, positive emotions, etc.) that are being spent in meeting the demands of everyday life. The restorative process has been widely studied in adults, but less is known about the restorative effects that exposure to nature has for children and adolescents. To fill this gap in the literature, we conducted a systematic review aiming at systematically summarizing the accumulated evidence about the restorative effects of nature exposure on children and adolescents and reporting the main findings in terms of the restoration of (1) cognitive, (2) emotional, (3) social or (4) behavioural resources. To conduct the study, we followed the PRISMA procedure. Databases were extracted from Web of Science, PUBMED, and SCOPUS. Studies were selected if (a) they included non-adult participants, (b) they included empirical results at least for one of the four selected variables, (c) the study was published in English and (d) the study had been peer-reviewed. According to these criteria, 30 studies were finally selected.Selected studies were categorized in terms of sample size, duration of the intervention (if applicable), and quality of the study (following the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute assessment tool). Results show that exposure to nature has significant restorative effects, but the effects differ across the selected variables. Due to methodological limitations, such as a lack of measurement standardization, and the scarcity of experimental and longitudinal studies, caution should be exercised when interpreting the available results. Suggestions for future lines of research in this area are provided. Show less
