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The Great Outdoors
The National Wildlife Federation recently issued a report concluding that providing students with more time outdoors increases their academic performance. The report suggests that limiting outdoor time may reduce students’ attention as well as increase their tendency toward aggressive behavior. The implication for schools is to offer students the opportunity to learn in a natural environment when feasible. There is also an implication for parents – sometimes you just have to turn off the TV and computer. We concur, but don’t forget the sunscreen and insect repellent.
Thanks for letting us know about this interesting report. More and more psychological research seems to be coming out that suggest enormous benefits from spending time in nature.
In fact this morning I read about research conducted by Terry Hartig (Uppsala University) that shows time in nature helps to relieve mental fatigue. It was found that after 45 minutes of tough cognitive work, a walk in a natural setting did the world of good to participants and was better mental recovery for them than taking a walk in an urban setting or listening to music and reading magazines.
So less time spent on facebook and Myspace and more time spent outside would do us all (including parents) the world of good.