Just a few hours of outdoor schooling per week can benefit children with higher risk of mental health symptoms, according to a new study.
HealthDay News reported on the research, with a summary posted by McGill University, explaining that about 1,000 fifth- and sixth-grade students in Quebec were randomly selected to stay in their indoor classrooms all week or to spend two hours of that time with teachers in parks or green spaces.
During the three-month study, the kids took part in their regular school work, including subjects such as math and languages, even while outdoors. These students were also asked to do a 15-minute activity meant to improve their mental health, such as writing a haiku or mindful walking.
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The results? While children on the whole were resilient enough that these changes did not demonstrate a significant change in the wider population, the researchers said 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."
"This suggests that nature-based programs may offer targeted benefits for children with higher levels of mental health vulnerabilities and potentially act as an equalizer of mental health among school-age children," said Sylvana Côté, one of the paper's co-authors and the Canada Research Chair in the Prevention of Psychosocial and Educational Problems in Childhood.
The researchers said for "teacher-reported measures, the intervention was effective for students with higher levels of symptoms at baseline," such as anxiety, depression, aggressiveness, or social issues. Teachers reported that these kids appeared calmer, less anxious, and more attentive in class following outdoor interventions.
"We found that children with higher mental health symptoms at baseline showed greater reductions in symptoms following the intervention," said study senior author Marie-Claude Geoffroy, an associate professor in the McGill Department of Psychiatry.
Geoffroy, who is also the Canada Research Chair in Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention at the Douglas Research Center, said she came up with the idea during the pandemic.
"My kids and I spend lots of time in parks, so I've seen the benefits of spending time in nature, both for myself and for them," she told NonStop Local. "So, I thought maybe we can have a free and accessible intervention where school children can spend time in nature, and we can measure the effects this has on their mood and behavior."
This is not the first time researchers have found a link between exposure to the outdoors and mental health improvements. For instance, doctors, mental health professionals, and social workers in England prescribed time in nature to more than 8,000 people, and participants reported a greater sense of happiness and purpose as well as less anxiety. Another study found that spending just 10 minutes in nature can help adults with mental illness.
"Our results are particularly relevant for educators, policy-makers and mental health professionals seeking cost-effective and accessible ways to support vulnerable students," Tianna Loose, first author of the study, said in a news release. "The intervention was low-cost, well-received and posed no risks, making it a promising strategy for schools with access to green spaces."
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article said students in the study as a whole showed benefits from the additional exposure to nature, but the study only suggested possible mental health improvements for students with teacher-reported pre-existing higher risk of mental health symptoms.
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