Nature Exposure Increases Children's Academic Success, Global Studies Confirm

Children’s attention spans in the classroom are diminishing, and nobody seems to be asking a pressing question: Is the classroom an ideal place to concentrate?

Studies indicate that due to short-form content (like TikTok and Reels), children’s average attention span has dropped from around 150 seconds in 2004 to just 47 seconds today.

Why do we continue confining learning indoors?

Over our interactions with schools over the years, we’ve noticed an astonishing (if not, concerning) attitude towards learning outside the classroom.

Most parents and schools in India consider outdoor learning an extra-curricular activity at best, or a “waste of time” at worst.

Nature learning and appreciations seem performative. Students go on a nice field trip every few months. Maybe they participate in a sweet tree-planting session on World Environment Day. Running around outside is considered a “break” from what’s more important – studies.

As for parents, they agree that nature and fresh air is good for their children. But the overwhelming worry is that more time outdoors means less time studying, and less studying (parents assume) leads to poorer academic performance.

Is it because the idea that “nature is good for children” has felt more philosophical and poetic than measurable? This article aims to change existing pre-conceived notions.

Conclusive studies on the benefits of nature learning for academic performance

Time in nature is time well-spent, a statement now backed by science.

Compelling global research has found that nature plays a crucial role in improving children’s ability to learn, priming the brain for academic success.

We’ve also noticed that the general concern is about sustaining the benefits of being outdoors. “What happens when children are back home?” “Won’t they settle back into old patterns?”

There's good news on that front, too. A controlled study in Frontiers in Psychology compared pairs of lessons (one outdoors, one indoors) and found that students were visibly more focused after the outdoor session. 

The more children learn outdoors, the higher their engagement and attention spans when they’re back in the classroom.

A synthesis of global research says nature exposure positively impacts learning outcomes in 5 key areas. Read on:

1. Nature Helps Students Focus Without Pressure

Psychologists suggest that the problem may not be with students’ attention spans, but with how our attention systems recover. And classrooms aren’t always the ideal space to reset.

Nature provides what researchers call “soft fascination” - gentle, engaging stimuli that restore mental energy.

We found a fascinating PubMed-listed study of school-age children in rural Gujarat, showing that learning through outdoor play led to a dramatic increase in attention and well-being. Post-intervention scores shot up (mean attention scores from 6.4 to 15.9) after introducing structured outdoor games.

Outdoor experiences such as trekking are restorative for overstimulated, digitally saturated students.

2. Nature Reduces Stress And Improves Emotional Health

Board exams, tuition overload, online distractions; the mental load on students is staggering. We ask children to “sit still” and perform in environments that resemble pressure chambers. Children, already battling digitally fragmented brains and realities, try their best in the classroom.

“Pay attention” is futile when children’s brains are fried. Stress affects children’s memory, shortens attention spans, and shrinks learning capacity.

InSOUL advocates stepping outdoors regularly to improve children's mental and emotional health, since:       

• Nature lowers cortisol (stress hormone) levels and lowers heart rates, which improves a child’s emotional regulation
• Regular green exposure helps students become calmer, more open to new learning, improves resilience and self-awareness.

In fact, a large cross-sectional study of young people across 25 Indian cities found that those who spent more time in nature reported better mental health: including higher resilience, greater well-being, and lower levels of psychological distress. 

3. Nature Nurtures Self-Discipline In Ways Classrooms Struggle To Do

What’s holding students back isn’t a lack of “intelligence” but a lack of self-discipline. In a study of over 300 eighth-grade students in the U.S., researchers found that self-discipline was more than twice as effective as IQ at predicting academic success.

Students with higher self-discipline earned better grades, had better attendance, and were more likely to be accepted into competitive high schools.

Classrooms enforce discipline through timetables and authority. Studies suggest discipline is better nurtured than imposed. 

Outdoor experiences quietly train this muscle. We’ve observed children’s self-discipline emerge first-hand on our Himalayan treks for schools.

"Nitin (name changed) has learned to be okay with whatever he has after the trek. His ability to adapt has improved. I feel this is important, as today everything is readily available for children,” shares Ms. Chhaochharia, a parent who sent her son for a Himalayan Summer Camp with InSOUL.

Trekking requires students to pace themselves, live minimally, adapt to discomfort, and cooperate without adult micro-management. It strengthens students’ ability to delay gratification and regulate impulse, which is foundational to learning.

4.  Nature Builds Intrinsic Motivation In Learners

One of the most overlooked challenges in education today is disengagement; children’s overwhelming apathy towards everything in the classroom.

Yet, children in natural settings are measurably more curious, attentive, and interested. As Taylor et al. (2014) explain, natural environments draw children in without overwhelming them. Curiosity returns. Students begin to notice things again.

Children are more attentive outdoors because outdoor learning activates inquiry over obedience. The emphasis is on a state of play over passive absorption of facts. The shift has lasting cognitive impacts on children.

5.  Being Outdoors Makes Children Physically Fit, Which Makes Them Mentally Sharper

We need to retire the idea that movement and learning belong in separate boxes. Unfit bodies have a direct correlation to dull, disengaged minds. 

Studies show that children with better fitness also perform better academically. Physical activity in outdoor settings sharpens memory, cognitive flexibility, and focus.

For instance, parents are usually taken aback at how alert their children seem after a trek. “She seems to be physically stronger after the trek, and mentally strong as well. My daughter is expressing herself better and is more conscious about her surroundings,” shares a parent who sent their child for a summer camp with us this year.

Children navigate uneven and tough mountain terrain while trekking. They solve complex problems in groups and observe ecosystems as they walk - all of this, while naturally improving fitness.

How schools in India can bring more nature learning into the curriculum:

• Learn within more green spaces: Even a 30-minute nature walk significantly improves attention spans
• Easy day treks: Reduces academic stress, keeps children active and away from screens, first-hand learning about local ecology and culture
• Nature journalling/sketching: Builds vocabulary, emotional awareness, and attention to detail
• Overnight camping treks: A chance to disconnect from technology, builds collaboration, leadership skills, creativity, and critical thinking in students
• Gentle, guided reflection time in nature/on school grounds: Helps regulate children's emotions, reduces stress, gives children the time to unwind and just be
• Real-world learning of academic subjects on treks: Builds awareness and appreciation of local history and culture, native biodiversity, village life, and indigenous knowledge systems
• Integrate trekking into school curriculum: Builds life skills, strengthens social-emotional learning, leadership skills, and 21st century competencies in children 

Summing up

If your children are struggling with focus or attention, sustained time outdoors seems to be the smartest, most overlooked education tool at your disposal. 

In India, outdoor learning is considered nice to have, therefore, optional. But the National Education Policy 2020 calls for holistic education and 21st-century skill-building in children.

InSOUL believes intentional Nature Learning is among the best ways to achieve 21st century learning outcomes for schools.