| My mother's warning; "You are going to rot your brain | | | | ADHD spend quality after-school hours and weekend |
| out..." still rings through my mind whenever I spend too | | | | time outdoors enjoying nature. |
| much time in front of the television set. | | | | Study authors Frances E. Kuo and Andrea Faber |
| I grew up in a time when mothers shooed their children | | | | Taylor suggested that daily doses of ''green time'' |
| out - rain, snow or shine - to get a breath of fresh air. | | | | might supplement medications and behavioral |
| Our television set tuned in to only four or five channels | | | | approaches to ADHD if clinical trials and additional |
| and those channels signed off at midnight. It would be | | | | research confirm the value of nature as a natural |
| years before cable television, satellite dish, VCRs and | | | | treatment for ADHD. |
| Nintendo would debut. Lazy summer days were spent | | | | The study findings indicate that exposure to ordinary |
| riding bicycles for hours because there wasn't much of | | | | natural settings in the course of common after-school |
| anything better to do. | | | | and weekend activities may be widely effective in |
| This period of time was also a few decades before | | | | reducing attention deficit symptoms in children. |
| Ritalin and Attention Deficit would become | | | | In each comparison (there were 56 in all), green |
| commonplace terms. | | | | outdoor activities received more positive ratings over |
| I have long believed that inactive hours spent indoors | | | | the activities taking place in other settings. In 54 of the |
| has contributed to the increased incidence of Attention | | | | 56, the difference was significant, signaling that the |
| Deficit Disorder. A recent study, published in the | | | | findings were consistent. |
| September 2004 issue of the "American Journal of | | | | Researchers said that exposing ADHD children to |
| Public Health," validates that believe. | | | | nature is an affordable, healthy method of controlling |
| University of Illinois researchers studied nature as an | | | | symptoms. Researchers also suggested that daily |
| ADHD natural treatment. This study showed that | | | | doses of "green time" can supplement medications |
| children with ADHD benefit from time outdoors | | | | and other traditional treatments of ADHD. |
| enjoying nature with a significant reduction of ADHD | | | | Simply using nature may offer a way to help manage |
| symptoms. | | | | ADHD symptoms that is readily available, doesn't have |
| Researchers of this nationwide recruited the parents | | | | any stigma associated with it, doesn't cost anything, |
| of 322 boys and 84 girls, all diagnosed with ADHD, | | | | and doesn't have any side effects. |
| through ads in major newspapers and the Internet. | | | | ADHD natural "green" treatment has endless |
| Participants, ages 5 to18, spent time in a variety of | | | | possibilities, many of which might closely resemble |
| settings which varied from big cities to rural settings. | | | | childhoods from years long past. |
| Some activities were conducted indoors, others in | | | | Here are just a few ideas for increasing "green time": |
| outdoor places without much greenery such as parking | | | | Play in a green yard or ball field at recess and after |
| lots and downtown areas and other activities were in | | | | school. |
| "green" areas such as a tree-lined street, back yards | | | | Take after-dinner walks. |
| or parks. The parents were interviewed and asked to | | | | Make a scarecrow. |
| report how their children performed after participating | | | | Doing class work or homework outside or at a |
| in a wide range of activities. | | | | window with a relatively green view. |
| The researchers found that symptoms were reduced | | | | Build a birdhouse. |
| most in green outdoor settings, even when the same | | | | Grow an outdoor garden. |
| activities were compared across different settings. | | | | Bike, ski, sled, inline skate... |
| Researchers believe that simply incorporating nature | | | | Visit a nature center. |
| into a child's day could be widely effective in reducing | | | | Choose a greener route for the walk to school. |
| ADHD symptoms. | | | | Participate in local nature clean-ups. |
| Based on the results of this ADHD natural treatment | | | | Take up bird watching. |
| study, researchers recommend that children with | | | | Star gaze. |