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Published in Stephen Verderber, Ben J. Refuerzo, Innovations in Hospice Architecture, 2019
Stephen Verderber, Ben J. Refuerzo
Palliative care settings that supportively foster effective attentional restoration tend to be compelling and preferred, providing meaningful options for immersion in nature. An offshoot of functionalist-evolutionary theory, Attention Restoration Theory, or ART, has arisen more recently, from the innovative work of Stephen and Rachel Kaplan.75 This parallel theory posits that a condition of automaticity distinguishes between involuntary and directed attention. In the case of end-of-life care, an automatistic hospice environment is one that draws us towards it and draws us inside – because we see it as interesting, compellingly different (from a hospital, presumably). It is arguable the case studies in Chapters 5 and 6 each in some way exhibit some form of automaticity; perhaps it may be present in an entry sequence, a living room with a large fireplace, a courtyard or sensory immersion room, outdoor paths, gardens, a retention pond, and interesting places to sit outside. Other examples include the relationship of the patient bedroom to an adjoining patio, varied ceiling heights and configurations, views overlooking a garden or wooded area, and so on. This quality may not permeate an entire hospice setting, but may be sufficiently present in enough rooms or realms to be spiritually and/or physically uplifting relative to the needs of patients, families and their caregivers. It is a quality that designers can consciously design into the built environment, not unlike the inspired spatial qualities of great architecture anywhere.
The role of campus greenspace and meditation on college students’ mood disturbance
Published in Journal of American College Health, 2022
Dorothy C. Ibes, Catherine A. Forestell
The restorative power of nature engagement has been supported by two key theories based in evolutionary principles. Kaplan and Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory12 posits that activities that require a sustained focus (e.g., studying, writing, computer work), can incite directed attention fatigue that leads to irritability and an inability to concentrate. Because engagement with nature relieves mental fatigue, it fosters a renewed ability to focus and reduces irritability. According to Ulrich and colleagues’ Stress Reduction Theory,13 engagement with natural places similar to those in which humans successfully evolved (e.g., landscapes near water or with views of vegetation), improves affect by decreasing stress. Researchers have found that these often subconscious positive effects are even more pronounced among highly stressed individuals who are dealing with major life crises.14
Sometimes Nature Doesn’t Work: Absence of Attention Restoration in Older Adults Exposed to Environmental Scenes
Published in Experimental Aging Research, 2019
Marica Cassarino, Isabella C. Tuohy, Annalisa Setti
An ever-growing body of literature indicates that exposure to nature can have salutogenic effects on both physical and cognitive health (Berto, 2014; Beute & de Kort, 2014; Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012; de Keijzer, Gascon, Nieuwenhuijsen, & Dadvand, 2016; Gascon et al., 2015; Ohly et al., 2016; van Den Bosch & Ode Sang, 2017). Attention Restoration Theory (ART, Kaplan, 1995) suggests that nature has a positive impact on cognition because it provides relief from attentional fatigue: According to ART, natural green spaces engage bottom-up involuntary attention (defined as “soft fascination”) while reducing the burden on top-down (or directed) attentional demands; on the contrary, urban environments offer complex perceptual stimulation which might result demanding for directed attention (“hard fascination”), and possibly detrimental to it (Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008; Kaplan & Berman, 2010). ART has found support not only in behavioural research, but also in neuroimaging studies: These have associated exposure to nature, as compared to urban images, with selective activation of brain areas involved in involuntary rather than voluntary attention (Martínez-Soto, Gonzales-Santos, Pasaye, & Barrios, 2013), as well as with enhanced connectivity in sensory areas, which has been interpreted as less effortful processing (Chen, He, & Yu, 2016).
Addressing Correctional Staff Stress through Interaction with Nature: A New Role for Occupational Therapy
Published in Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 2018
Amy Wagenfeld, Julie Stevens, Barb Toews, Sarah Jarzembowski, Nora Ladjahasan, Jade Stewart, Chanel Raddatz
Connecting with nature is, in fact, associated with health and well-being (Wang & MacMillan 2013). The attention restoration theory contends that the negative and lasting effects of attentional fatigue occurring from doing prolonged mental and physical tasks requiring focused attention are most likely to be reduced when given the opportunity to engage with and/or be in natural environments (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Kaplan & Kaplan, 2003; Kaplan 2001). Mental fatigue can lead to decreased productivity and accuracy, and increased frustration, impulsivity, anger, careless behavior, and overall decline in physical performance (Herzog & Strevey, 2008; Marcora, Staiano, & Manning, 2009; Park et al., 2010). Stack and Shultis (2013) suggest that the “perceived restorative quality of a given environment may be the result of an interaction between the setting and the activity that one associates with that setting” (p. 12). Restoration or a return to a state of balance can occur to a greater degree in a natural setting as compared to an urban environment (Berto, 2014). Nature interactions also positively impact cognitive and affective function (Bratman, Daily, Levy, & Gross, 2015). Exposure to natural landscapes has been shown to provide a greater buffer against the effects of negative health experiences as compared to urban landscapes (Velarde, Fry, & Tveit, 2007). Research findings from various disciplines also suggest that exposure to real or simulated nature environments provides a counter to stress and mental fatigue (Van den berg, Maas, Verheij, & Groenewegen, 2010) as compared to lack of exposure to nature in any capacity; natural, urban, man-made.