Study in Nature to Reduce Emotional Distress: Research Reveals - Video
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Overview
A new study found that spending two hours a week of class time in a natural environment can reduce emotional distress among 10- to 12-year-olds who had the most significant mental health problems before the program began.
The research comes on the heels of the publication of a UNICEF report pointing to the importance of green space for children’s development.
The study published this week in JAMA Network Open, looked at the effects of spending time in nature on the behaviour and mental health symptoms of over 500 schoolchildren across Quebec in the spring of 2023.
The researchers found that at the end of a three-month period, teachers noted that the biggest changes in behaviour occurred in children with the most significant problems at the outset, including anxiety and depression, aggressivity and impulsivity, or social problems relating to interaction with their peers. Interviews with the teachers following the intervention also suggested that children were more calm, relaxed and attentive in class after time spent in nature. The research builds on earlier observational studies but is the first to use a randomized controlled trial to provide concrete information about the benefits to children of spending time in nature.
Including the members of the control group, approximately 1,000 children took part in the study. All were between the ages of 10 and 12 years and in grades five or six. They came from 33 different elementary schools in neighbourhoods representing a range of socioeconomic statuses and scattered around Quebec. All schools were within one kilometre of a park or green space. Half of the children stayed in school, while a similar number of children took part in the nature-based intervention.
To be able to measure changes in behaviour over the three-month period, students and teachers in the control group and the nature-intervention group were asked to fill out short questionnaires. These were designed to measure children’s emotional and behavioural difficulties, as well as their strengths.
During the two hours they spent in the park each week, teachers were asked to offer their regular classes in subjects such as math, languages or science. In addition, they were asked to incorporate a short 10-15-minute activity designed to promote mental health, with examples drawn from a teachers’ kit designed by the research team. The activities included things like drawing a tree or a mandala, writing haikus, mindful walking, talking about cycles of life and death in nature, and so on.
Reference: Loose T, Fuoco J, Malboeuf-Hurtubise C, et al. A Nature-Based Intervention and Mental Health of Schoolchildren: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(11):e2444824. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.44824
Speakers
Dr. Bhumika Maikhuri
BDS, MDS