Nature interventions improve working memory in school children relative to control conditions, for both immersive and passive exposures¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr3·q2
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · 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.
q2 i? Two reviewed studies found a significant positive effect of nature on working memory (Digit Span tasks) relative to control conditions, one with active play in a green school playground and one with a passive green window view. → Dianne A. Vella-Brodrick · Krystyna Gilowska 2022
Evidence¶
Dianne A. Vella-Brodrick · Krystyna Gilowska 2022¶
Dianne A. Vella-Brodrick · Krystyna Gilowska. (2022). Effects of Nature (Greenspace) on Cognitive Functioning in School Children and Adolescents: a Systematic Review. Educational Psychology Review (2022) 34:1217–1254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09658-5
q2 · i? · review · r3
The review's synthesis of two included experiments (Amicone et al. 2018, Rome; Li & Sullivan 2016, Illinois), both using Digit Span Forward and Backward. The review reports "a significant positive effect of nature on working memory performance" in both, with a 30-min green playground and a 10-min green window view.
"These studies indicate that relative to control conditions, two different nature interventions (one immersive and one passive) involving different age groups can improve cognitive performance that relies on the ability to hold and manipulate information in short-term (working) memory."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- 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
- In secondary school students, breaks with green views or walks in larger green spaces improve attention performance — related
- Short walks and green playtime improve selective attention in children and adolescents relative to urban or indoor comparisons — 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 — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
nature-intervention-improves-working-memory-children |
title |
Nature interventions improve working memory in school children relative to control conditions, for both immersive and passive exposures |
description |
Nature interventions improve working memory in school children relative to control conditions, for both immersive and passive exposures |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2022 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-22 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — dianne-a-vella-brodrick-krystyna-gilowska-2022 |
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