Attention Restoration Theory: A systematic review of the attention restoration potential of exposure to natural environments

Ohly, Heather; White, Mathew P.; Wheeler, Benedict W.; Bethel, Alison; Ukoumunne, Obioha C; Nikolaou, Vasilis; Garside, Ruth

doi:10.1080/10937404.2016.1196155

Cited by 529 publications

(458 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…We used the quality assessment process suggested by Centre for Reviews and Dissemination's Guide for Systematic Review (2009), the Critical Appraisal Checklist from Critical Appraisal Skills Program (2013), and the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies from the Effective Health Practice Project (2013) to assess the robustness, validity, and generalizability of each study. These appraisal checklists have been used in other systematic reviews [10]. The studies that did not pass the appraisal standards were excluded.…”

Section: Study Selection Extraction and Appraisalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Green Infrastructure, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Human Health: A Review

Suppakittpaisarn

Jiang

Sullivan

2017

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

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Purpose of the Review In a growing trend, cities around the world have been installing Green Infrastructure (GI) in the form of vegetated landscapes that provide ecological benefits such as stormwater management, wildlife habitats, and temperature moderation (Tzoulas et al. Landsc Urban Plan. 61(3):11, 2007). Some GI, such as trees and green spaces, have positive impacts on human health. It is less clear how newer types of GI, such as rain gardens, green roofs, and bioswales, impact human health. These newer GI types are called Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI). Planners and designers need to know the extent to which GSI impacts humans. This systematic review does exactly that-we explore the published evidence regarding the relationships between GI and human health. Recent Findings We identified 55 peer-reviewed articles addressing these issues. Familiar types of GI, such as trees and green spaces, were found to be beneficial to the body (cardiovascular system, cortisol regulation, and pregnancy health), mind (attention capacity and mental health), and behavior (lower crime, better self-regulation, and more pro-social behaviors). We found much less research exploring the impacts of GSI on health.Summary Our findings show that for some of the specific categories of GI, such as trees, considerable evidence exists on the impacts on human health. For other categories, such as rain gardens, green roofs, or biodiverse plantings, however, there is scant evidence of a health impact. We believe it is likely that these forms of GI do impact human health and that the reason for the scarcity of evidence is that few careful studies have examined the impacts of newer forms of GI on specific human health outcomes. Future researchers should investigate the health effects of type, dose, frequency, and duration of exposure to GI and GSI.

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Section: Study Selection Extraction and Appraisalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between exposure to settings that include nature and the improvement in the ability to pay attention is well-established [5,10,63]. Improvement in attentional capacity after exposure to GI is widely attributed to a process described by ART.…”

Section: Attentionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Infrastructure, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Human Health: A Review

Suppakittpaisarn

Jiang

Sullivan

2017

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

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“…Many studies look for statistically significant associations at a population level, for example, between proximity to certain types or scales of designated green space in the living environment and health indicators, such as perceived general health, perceived mental health, cause-specific mortality, pregnancy outcomes, and so forth (e.g., see reviews by James, Banay, Hart, & Laden, 2015;Gascon et al, 2016). Other studies rely on experimental approaches using controlled short-term exposures to particular types of (often virtual-visual) nature, usually with somewhat homogenous samples (Hartig et al, 2014;Ohly et al, 2016;Thompson-Coon, Boddy, Stein, et al, 2011). The findings of such work are used to characterise the "normal" state of the group or population under study.…”

Section: From Nature On Prescription To Notions Of Dosementioning

confidence: 99%

The “healthy dose” of nature: A cautionary tale

et al. 2018

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Growing cross‐disciplinary interest in understanding if, how, and why time spent with nature can contribute to human health and well‐being has recently prompted efforts to identify an ideal healthy dose of nature; exposure to a specific type of nature at a specified frequency and duration. These efforts build on longstanding attempts to prescribe nature in some way, most recently in the form of so‐called “green prescriptions.” In this critical discussion paper, we draw on key examples from within the fields of health and cultural geography to encourage deeper and more critical reflection on the value of such reductionist dose‐response frameworks. By foregrounding the relationally emergent qualities of people's dynamic nature encounters, we suggest such efforts may be both illusory and potentially exclusionary for the many individuals and groups whose healthy nature interactions diverge from the statistical average or “normal” way of being. We suggest value in working towards alternative more‐than‐human approaches to health and well‐being, drawing on posthumanist theories of social practice. We present two practice examples—beach‐going and citizen science—to demonstrate how a focus on social practices can better cater for the diverse and dynamic ways in which people come to conceptualise, embody, and interpret nature in their everyday lives. We close by reflecting on the wider societal transformations required to foster greater respect for embodied difference and diversity.

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“…A recent systematic and comprehensive metaanalysis of 31 studies regarding Attention Restoration Theory revealed evidence supporting the theory (Ohly et al, 2016). This meta-analysis utilized study quality indicator tools (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2009;Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, 2013;Effective Public Health Practice Project, 2013) to identify sources of bias and estimate the robustness of the individual studies.…”

Section: Theories For the Therapeutic Benefits Of Gardening And Exposmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gardening for Therapeutic People-Plant Interactions during Long-Duration Space Missions

Odeh¹,

Guy²

2017

Open Agriculture

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Plants provide people with vital resources necessary to sustain life. Nutrition, vitamins, calories, oxygen, fuel, and medicinal phytochemicals are just a few of the life-supporting plant products, but does our relationship with plants transcend these physical and biochemical products? This review synthesizes some of the extant literature on people-plant interactions, and relates key findings relevant to space exploration and the psychosocial and neurocognitive benefits of plants and nature in daily life. Here, a case is made in support of utilizing plant-mediated therapeutic benefits to mitigate potential psychosocial and neurocognitive decrements associated with long-duration space missions, especially for missions that seek to explore increasingly distant places where ground-based support is limited.

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Attention Restoration Theory: A systematic review of the attention restoration potential of exposure to natural environments

Cited by 529 publications

References 46 publications

Green Infrastructure, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Human Health: A Review

Green Infrastructure, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Human Health: A Review

The “healthy dose” of nature: A cautionary tale

Gardening for Therapeutic People-Plant Interactions during Long-Duration Space Missions

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