Attention Restoration Theory
Medical research shows that nature reduces stress and provides soft fascinations that lead to improved direct attention skills. Nature is filled with the rustle of tree leaves and creeks babbling over rocks that allow people to reflect with effortless attention. Urban environments capture direct attention where it is exhausted overtime, turning into direct attention fatigue. When people suffering from direct attention fatigue are exposed to soft fascinations for a short period of time, they experience restored attention.
Attention Restoration Theory was brought to light in Rachel and Stephen Kaplan’s book The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. The Kaplans suggest that there are four types of attention; direct attention, direct attention fatigue, effortless attention, and restored attention. Their theories suggest that, without experiencing nature’s soft fascinations, restored attention cannot occur. Lack of restored attention causes anxiety, stress, and numbness. Research shows that post-surgery patients who viewed trees healed faster than those who viewed blank walls. Inner-city children who take time to experience nature in a local park show stronger self-discipline skills than kids who primarily play inside.
Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard. ~Standing Bear