These days, “going green” is where it’s at. Companies are quick to boast about their eco-friendly and energy efficient products; architects are designing green buildings; and we all want to be phosphate free, recyclable, refillable, ozone friendly and environmentally safe!
So, hopefully you know by now that green is good for our environment and can (I’m hoping) save us from global warming. But what you may not know is “going green” can save us from being inattentive and easily distracted.
Frances E. Kuo, co-director of the Human-Environment Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and her cohorts Andrea Faber Taylor and William C. Sullivan, conducted many studies about the effect of environments on concentration.
The studies prove that children with ADD function better if they spend time in nature. They show that the greener the environment, the greater the result. Sure, we all know that kids are calmer when they spend more time outdoors. Bike riding, basketball and playing tag can help children to be calmer and more focused. This is the result of exercise not environment. Exercising in “wilderness-like” settings has the greatest effect on the children’s behavior. For example, playing outside in forests calmed the ADD children more than playing in a city park or on paved surfaces.
Dr. Kuo says, “We knew from our own studies and those of other scientists that in general, green is good. For ADHD kids however, green is great.”
