Healing Gardens: Brain Power

The power of therapeutic healing gardens, a six post series. 

Post 4: Brain Power

Can nature make your kids smarter? GardenGirl thinks so. So finding some research that also states this is always exciting.

In a 2010 University of Michigan study, Dr. Rodney H. Matsuoka studied 101 Michigan public high schools. After allowing for controls of other influences (such as socioeconomic demographics, class sizes, and the overall condition of schools) the results were decidedly on the side of nature. Clearly, the study concluded that classroom and cafeteria views of the natural world (green vegetation, forests, etc.) had an effect on standardized test scores. In short, all else being equal, facilities in eyeshot of trees and shrubs had higher graduation rates and college plans. The interesting part is it was specifically views of trees and shrubs that were key – mowed grass did nothing. When kids can see a living, breathing ecosystem (and not buildings and parking lots), they tend to score higher in almost all academic disciplines.

Link to the study: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223757765_Student_performance_and_high_school_landscapes_Examining_the_links

Want more? Let’s discuss The Flynn Effect, which gets its name from researcher James Flynn. He is noted for his findings on IQ rates, which he concluded rose 3-5 points per decade in developed nations. But that stopped around the late 1990’s, where studies began to show a drop in IQ points, which, coincidentally, is the beginning of the digital mobile age.

Study here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152423/

Dr. Flynn reports that constant texting and checking email can remove 10 available IQ points, due to the interruptions. In fact, stopping a project to text or e-mail can cost someone up to 24 minutes – this includes the time to do the text and/or e-mail, and the after-effects of such (thinking about it, how long it takes to get back into the project, etc.) For example, a 40 minute study period interrupted by a 3-minute texting exchange can affect a students’ word recall by half.

So, what does GardenGirl conclude from this? A quiet space to do homework and/or study, preferably with views of the natural world, can save you a ton in tutoring costs, not to mention college tuition.