Easy ADHD Prescription: Green Fields and Open Sky

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Article: Easy " ADHD " Prescription: Green Fields and Open Sky

 

 

Researchers at the Human Environment Research Laboratory at the University of

Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (www.herl.uiuc.edu) have found that " green time " -

time spent outdoors in parks, farms or grassy backyards - reduces symptoms of

ADHD when compared to time spent at concrete, asphalt or indoor playgrounds.

 

Reported on in Psychology Today

(www.psychologytoday.com/htdocs/prod/PTOArticle/pto-20040406-000015.asp), the

study by Andrea Faber Taylor and Frances Kuo adds to the lab's earlier finding

that neighborhood ties are stronger, and reports of domestic violence less

frequent, in public housing developments when grass and trees are part of the

environment.

 

The new findings were consistent regardless of the child's age, gender, family

income, geographic region or severity of diagnosis. Parents rated their child's

behavior after extracurricular and weekend activities. The researchers

eliminated the effects of physical exercise as a factor.

 

If doctors eventually prescribe " green time " for the treatment of ADHD, it has

the advantage of being widely accessible, free of side effects, nonstigmatizing

and inexpensive, Kuo says.

 

 

 

 

 

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