Systematic Review: Neurodevelopmental Benefits of Active/Passive School Exposure to Green and/or Blue Spaces in Children and Adolescents

Francisco Díaz-Martínez, Miguel F. Sánchez-Sauco, Laura T. Cabrera-Rivera, Carlos Ojeda Sánchez, Maria D. Hidalgo-Albadalejo, Luz Claudio and Juan A. Ortega-García ()
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Francisco Díaz-Martínez: Paediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Clinical University Hospital Virgen of Arrixaca, University of Murcia, 30120 Murcia, Spain
Miguel F. Sánchez-Sauco: Paediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Clinical University Hospital Virgen of Arrixaca, University of Murcia, 30120 Murcia, Spain
Laura T. Cabrera-Rivera: Global Alliance to Renaturalize Child and Adolescent Health (GreenRooting.org), Spanish Association of Pediatrics, 28009 Madrid, Spain
Carlos Ojeda Sánchez: University Hospital of Guadalajara, 19002 Guadalajara, Spain
Maria D. Hidalgo-Albadalejo: Department of English Language and Linguistics, Narval School, Cartagena, 30319 Murcia, Spain
Luz Claudio: International Exchange Program for Minority Students, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
Juan A. Ortega-García: Paediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Clinical University Hospital Virgen of Arrixaca, University of Murcia, 30120 Murcia, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-29

Abstract: Today more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Children spend about 40 h a week in the school environment. Knowing the influence of school exposure to green/blue spaces could improve the children’s health, creating healthier environments and preventing exposure to legal/illegal drugs. This systematic review summarized the main results of published studies on active or passive exposure to green or blue spaces in different domains of child neurodevelopment. In August 2022, five databases were searched and twenty-eight eligible studies were included in the analysis. Cognitive and/or academic performance was the most frequently studied (15/28). Most studies evaluate passive exposure to green/blue spaces (19/28) versus active exposure (9/28). Only three studies addressed the relationship between blue space and neurodevelopment. The main results point toward mixed evidence of a protective relationship between green/blue space exposure and neurodevelopment, especially in improving cognitive/academic performance, attention restoration, behavior, and impulsivity. Renaturalizing school spaces and promoting “greener” capacities for school environmental health could improve children’s neurodevelopment. There was great heterogeneity in methodologies and adjustment for confounding factors across studies. Future research should seek a standardized approach to delivering school environmental health interventions beneficial to children’s development.

Keywords: green space; blue space; school; neurodevelopment; neurobehavior; nature; exposure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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