The world is a far louder and more distracting place than when humans first evolved. But there's increasing evidence that experiencing nature can help restore attention lost to modern distractions, known as "directed attention fatigue."

In research recently published in Environment International, psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis add to growing evidence behind attention restoration theory (ART), the idea that there's something innately restorative to one's attention in experiencing nature and green spaces. WashU researchers wanted to test this effect on children using data from the long-running ABCD study.

Their question: "If a child lives closer to green space, and has more access to green space, does this help them pay attention on demand when it's required, and do they do better at school on achievement tests?" said Carina Fowler, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Deanna Barch, a professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences and the Gregory B. Couch Professor of Psychiatry at WashU Medicine.

It turns out those neighborhood parks and woods can make a big difference.

"The greater the proximity to green space, the better kids did on objective assessments of their attention performance," Fowler said.

There are many questions about attention restoration theory. This research tackled those questions with a robust data set, using statistical analysis to filter out confounding factors such as income level, ADHD diagnosis and a slew of other measures that could affect attention.

Under the canopy
Studies have long shown that children perform better on sustained attention, inhibitory control and working memory tasks after time in a school garden or a park or on a nature walk. They also score higher on reading and math assessments in greener environments. The question is why, and do all green spaces offer this benefit?

Some studies have found little effect of green space on attention performance, but the proponents of attention restoration theory note that "You have to feel safe in the green space to have an effect," Fowler said, adding that the restoration effect is not as strong if someone is on social media while in that green space. That, and "the kind of green space might matter." ...

The planet Mars shares many landforms and weather patterns with the Earth, including changing seasons, volcanoes, canyons, dust storms and dust devils, and water ice. But one feature that Earth and Mars share among the eight planets in our solar system are polar ice caps. Both are one of each planet’s striking features, but the major difference is while Earth’s polar ice caps are both comprised of water, Mars’ north polar ice cap is only comprised of water while its southern polar ice cap is carbon dioxide. The reasons for this are determined by altitude, but Mars’ northern polar ice cap is one of the most studied regions primarily due to its water ice composition. But how does the north polar ice cap water ice change with the seasons compared to Earth, and what can this teach scientists about Mars’ climate history?

Now, an international team of researchers might have shed new light on this conundrum. As discussed in a recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the researchers challenged our understanding of ice deposits in Mars’ northern polar ice cap region. The primary motivation behind this study was to fill a longstanding knowledge gap regarding the seasonal changes in Martian polar ice deposits, specifically focusing on craters. The researchers note that better understanding seasonal changes in polar ice cap deposits could help gain insights into long-term climate changes on the Red Planet...