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Trees improve memory and attention in children
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
An international group of specialists, in the course of their joint work, established that the development of cognitive abilities (thinking, attention, memory, perception of new information, ability to reason, spatial orientation, etc.) in children directly depends on the number of trees around them; in addition, simply green surfaces around the child also improve the cognitive activity of the brain.
Experts from Norway, America, Spain, led by Payam Dadvand, came to the conclusion in the course of their work that green spaces and surfaces surrounding children contribute to the development of cognitive abilities. Such conclusions were made after long-term observation of schoolchildren aged 7 to 10 years. Almost three thousand children from different schools in Barcelona took part in the study, specialists observed the children's abilities for 12 months. During this period of time, schoolchildren regularly took tests that determined the degree of development of cognitive abilities. Then the group of scientists compared the test results and satellite data, which showed the amount of green spaces around the child's home, on the way to school and directly next to the school.
As a result, it was found that plants near the house had virtually no effect on the child’s abilities, while the number of trees or bushes on the way to and around school improved the memory and attention of schoolchildren (on average, the indicator increased by 5%).
After the experts added another factor – the level of environmental pollution, which is also to some extent influenced by the number of trees and shrubs, the dependence increased to 65%, in other words, the more polluted the air around the school, the lower the memory, attention and ability to perceive new information among schoolchildren.
It is worth noting that the conclusions made by scientists are confirmed by other independent studies. Some experts explain this relationship by the fact that the more plants there are around, the less noise there is, which can distract a child from the learning process; in addition, there are fewer air pollutants in green areas, such as cars, which negatively affect not only memory and attention, but also the general health of a person. Other experts suggested that this is due to the fact that schoolchildren spend more time outdoors.
A hypothesis about biophilia, which is inherent in us by nature itself, was also put forward. According to this theory, over the course of thousands of years, a psychological need for contemplating green landscapes has developed in humans. As experts have noted, it is not the presence of trees that helps a person develop, but their absence that negatively affects health. In any case, no one can yet say for sure the reasons for such a relationship between learning abilities and green spaces around a child. Perhaps the whole point is that “green” schools pay more attention to the development of children, and they are considered more prosperous.