Effects on sustained/selective attention are mixed across studies, with benefits in some green settings but no effect in others regardless of exposure duration¶
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? Wallner et al. found a significant positive D2-R effect after a 60-min green break in Vienna high school students, but Mygind et al. found no effect for younger Danish children, and van Dijk-Wesselius et al. found only a trend at first follow-up. → 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 contrasts Wallner et al. (2018), positive D2-R effect in Vienna high school students, with Mygind et al. (2018), no effect in Danish children aged 10–12 exposed to a grassed area with trees while reading quietly for 60 min. The review concludes this domain "may not necessarily benefit from exposure to greenspace, irrespective of the duration of exposure".
"reported a significant positive effect after a 60-min break in a green park or forest relative to a small urban park in high school students in Vienna, but no effect was found in younger affluent Danish children"
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Attention — outcome: instruction changes it
Related Claims¶
- Short walks and green playtime improve selective attention in children and adolescents relative to urban or indoor comparisons — related
- In elementary school students, short-term green breaks restore attention and working memory, with effects on inhibition mixed — related
- In secondary school students, breaks with green views or walks in larger green spaces improve attention performance — related
- 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
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
sustained-selective-attention-mixed-nature-effects |
title |
Effects on sustained/selective attention are mixed across studies, with benefits in some green settings but no effect in others regardless of exposure duration |
description |
Effects on sustained/selective attention are mixed across studies, with benefits in some green settings but no effect in others regardless of exposure duration |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
mixed |
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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