In secondary school students, breaks with green views or walks in larger green spaces improve attention performance¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · reviewr2–r3·q3·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2022 · checked against its sources 2026-10-22 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? A review reports that Li and Sullivan (2016) found attentional performance after a break was significantly higher in the classroom with a green window view than in the no-window and built-view conditions combined, which did not differ from each other. → Lucia Mason 2022
q3 i2 Wallner et al. (2018) found greater d2-R accuracy and time scores after the large urban park than the small park (g = 0.74) and forest (g = 0.90). → Lucia Mason 2022 (2)
Evidence¶
Lucia Mason 2022¶
Lucia Mason, Angelica Ronconi, Sara Scrimin, Francesca Pazzaglia. (2022). Short-Term Exposure to Nature and Benefits for Students' Cognitive Performance: a Review. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09631-8
q3 · i? · review · r2
The review reports Li and Sullivan (2016), a between-subjects experiment with N = 94 high schoolers randomly assigned to classrooms without windows, with built landscape windows, or with green landscape windows, after attention-fatiguing activities including a modified Trier Social Stress Test. After the break, the green-view condition showed significantly higher digit span performance than the other two conditions combined, which did not differ from each other; the review does not report separate comparisons with each.
"differences emerged after the break, as attentional performance in the classroom condition of green window view was significantly higher than in the other two window conditions combined, which did not differ each other."
Lucia Mason 2022 (2)¶
Lucia Mason, Angelica Ronconi, Sara Scrimin, Francesca Pazzaglia. (2022). Short-Term Exposure to Nature and Benefits for Students' Cognitive Performance: a Review. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09631-8
q3 · i2 · review · r3
Within-subjects experiment with N = 64 Austrian students aged 16–18 comparing a 45-minute break in a small urban park, a large urban park, and a forest after a heavy half-school day. Table 2 reports Hedges' g of 0.74 versus the small park and 0.90 versus the forest, favoring the large park.
"Greater scores (accuracy and time) in the d2-R test after returning from the larger park than the small urban park (0.74a) and forest (0.90a)"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- In elementary school students, short-term green breaks restore attention and working memory, with effects on inhibition mixed — related
- Classroom views of greenery improve children's concentration compared with built views or windowless classrooms — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
- Natural lighting and green window views benefit mood, sleep, cognition, and test performance — related
- Nature exposure relieves stress in learners, including experimentally demonstrated reductions in heart rate and self-reported stress — related
- Physical environment elements — sunlight, nature views, temperature, and lighting — affect learning — a broader claim this one bears on
- In university students, walks or sitting in natural settings after cognitive fatigue improve some attention and working memory measures, with null results for others — related
- Short-term passive exposure to nature produces cognitive benefits in 12 of 14 reviewed studies across educational levels, mainly as directed attention restoration — a broader claim this one bears on
- Nature interventions improve working memory in school children relative to control conditions, for both immersive and passive exposures — related
- Short walks and green playtime improve selective attention in children and adolescents relative to urban or indoor comparisons — related
- Long-term nature exposure shows inconsistent effects on processing speed, positive in the greened schoolyard study but null in the classroom green wall study — related
- Stress reduction did not mediate the nature–working memory effect in the one study testing it, which proposed a direct impact of nature exposure instead — related
- Effects on sustained/selective attention are mixed across studies, with benefits in some green settings but no effect in others regardless of exposure duration — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
green-exposure-secondary-school-attention |
title |
In secondary school students, breaks with green views or walks in larger green spaces improve attention performance |
description |
In secondary school students, breaks with green views or walks in larger green spaces improve attention performance |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2022 |
source_checked |
2026-10-22 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-21 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — lucia-mason-2022, lucia-mason-2022-2 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.