How to Improve Attention Span – Go Outdoors
Want to learn a new tip on how to improve attention span? Research tells us that going outdoors and spending time in nature can help to improve attention span in as little as 20 minutes!
What Does the Research Say on How to Improve Attention Span By Going Outdoors?
The Journal of Attention Disorders published research on the benefits of walking in a park to increase attention span. A small group of 17 children with ADHD, participated in a study comparing walks in a park, downtown and a neighborhood. The walks in the park resulted in a significant difference in concentration as scored on the Digit Span Backwards.
These 20 minute walks in a park setting were sufficient to elevate attention performance relative to the same amount of time in other setting (Faber Taylor & Kuo, 2009).
Even in a simulated natural environment, researchers found significant improvements in directed attention performance after a 10-min walk (Crossan & Salmoni, 2021).
Want to Practice Staying Focused? Ready, Set, Scan digital download includes 12 visual scanning and discrimination activities. How fast can you scan, find and mark each item? There are 12 challenges in all with different themes including: shapes, animals, fruit, party, travel and babies. Just print and start the search. Follow the directions: start a timer, scan for one object at a time, mark each object and stop the timer. Record your time in the box provided. Dot markers work great for marking the item. Use a different color dot marker for each item.
What is Attention Restoration Theory (ART)?
Attention Restoration Theory (ART) a theory that interacting with nature results in a type of restoration for the body and the brain.
Try to remember a recent event when you spent time outdoors in a natural environment. You may walk slowly and attend to all of your visual surroundings – a bird chirping, a sunset, the green grass of Spring. When you return indoors, you feel relaxed and calm.
Now to try to remember that last time you were outdoors in a busier environment, perhaps a city. Your attention may be focused on planning when to cross a street, avoiding cars and other city obstacles.
These two environments rely on your brain to use two different types of attention – involuntary and voluntary. Concentrating on topics that interest you or something that grabs your attention involves involuntary attention. Concentrating on blocking out distractions to focus on the topic at hand involves voluntary attention (which can fatigue easily). When the brain experiences involuntary attention it allows voluntary attention to rest and recover.
Perhaps the Attention Restoration Theory when applied to children with and without ADHD can perhaps be very beneficial. Walks in nature are simple to carry out on a daily basis. The “restorative” action of the walks which call upon involuntary attention can possibly help to improve voluntary attention.
How About Well Being and Going Outdoors?
If heading outdoors can improve attention span, can it also help to improve well-being? A research review indicated that when compared with equal durations spent in urbanized settings, as little as 10 min of sitting or walking in natural settings significantly and positively impacted defined psychological and physiological markers of mental well-being for college-aged individuals (Meredith et. al., 2020).
Suggestions to Increase Time in Nature
With the amount of television and computer time that children are exposed to daily, more time spent outdoors is essential. Here are several ideas to encourage increased nature time for all children:
- Take hikes and short walks in the woods. If you need a wheelchair accessible path, search state parks for handicapped accessible trails or try bike paths that are paved.
- Go letterboxing or geocaching – Letterboxing is a great family activity for people of all ages. You can go to www.letterboxing.org for a list of clues throughout the USA. You print off the clues, walk to find them and stamp a marking in your log book. Use your smartphone or GPS to go geocaching and find hidden treasures.
- Gardening – plant a garden with children. Plant seeds in pots so that all children can assist.
- Go on scavenger hunts for outdoor materials
- Allow children to play outdoors in dirt, mud and puddles.
- Go on a bug hunt – see how many different bugs you can identify
- Start a nature collection such as rocks, acorns, leaves or pine cones.
- Go fishing, frog hunting, horseback riding or birdwatching.
- Build a structure out of natural materials i.e. fort, collage made out of sticks or leaves.
- Encourage teachers and therapists to plan lessons outdoors.
Fresh air makes many feel healthier, relaxed and perhaps improves attention. It is a simple way to improve concentration with no side effects (except skinned knees).
References:
Crossan, C., & Salmoni, A. (2021). A simulated walk in nature: Testing predictions from the attention restoration theory. Environment and Behavior, 53(3), 277-295.
Faber Taylor, A., & Kuo, F. E. (2009). Children with attention deficits concentrate better after walk in the park. Journal of attention disorders, 12(5), 402-409.
Meredith, G. R., Rakow, D. A., Eldermire, E. R., Madsen, C. G., Shelley, S. P., & Sachs, N. A. (2020). Minimum time dose in nature to positively impact the mental health of college-aged students, and how to measure it: A scoping review. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 2942.
Resources to Help with Focus and Attention Span
Want more ideas on how to improve attention span? Why not try yoga for its restorative benefits? Even better, do yoga outdoors to help with focus and calming the mind. Check out all of our Yoga resources here.
Read more on 10 sensory quick fixes to help with attention span.
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