[Paracelsus] Nature Outings Help ADHD

[Guest guest]

I don't really think ADHD is a disease, and articles such as this

confirm my beliefs even more... EVERYONE needs to spend time in

nature, this world of concrete and never-ending buildings is a

relatively new " advancement " of man, we were meant to be part of the

natural world...

Other comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

 

[Paracelsus] Nature Outings Reduce ADHD Symptoms

 

Nature Outings Reduce ADHD Symptoms

 

FRIDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDayNews) -- The great outdoors provides great

benefits to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

 

So says a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study in the

September issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

 

The nationwide study of more than 400 5- to 18-year-old children

with ADHD found that spending time outdoors enjoying nature on

weekends and after school led to a significant reduction of ADHD

symptoms.

 

" The advantage for green outdoor activities was observed among

children living in different regions of the United States and among

children living in a range of settings, from rural to large city

environments, " wrote study authors Frances E. Kuo and Andrea Faber

Taylor.

 

" Overall, our findings indicate that exposure to ordinary natural

settings in the course of common after-school and weekend activities

may be widely effective in reducing attention deficit symptoms

in children, " the authors wrote.

 

These are exciting findings, said Kuo, professor in the departments

of natural resources and environmental sciences and of psychology.

 

" I think we're on the track of something really important, something

that could affect a lot of lives in a substantial way, " she said in a

prepared statement. " We're on the trail of a potential treatment for

a disorder that afflicts one of every 14 children -- that's one or

two kids in every classroom. "

 

Kuo said " nature treatments " for ADHD symptoms could be as simple as

designing a greener route to school each day for kids, building in

outdoor playtime, or making sure kids do their homework with a view

that looks out onto the natural world.

 

More information

 

The National Institute of Mental Health has more about ADHD.

 

SOURCE: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, news release,

Aug. 27, 2004 2004 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.

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