Research update: mental restoration and recreation: taking time to visit a park may leave you a little more relaxed.

Through the past couple of decades, the topic of recreation benefits has received a great deal of attention (Allen, Stevens, Hurtes, & Harwell, 1998; Driver, Brown, & Peterson, 1991; Dustin, McAvoy, & Goodale, 1999), ranging from the economic and environmental impacts of parks to personal psychological benefits, such as better mental health or increased self-confidence (Driver et al., 1991). Surprisingly, mental restoration--one of the more frequently cited anecdotal benefits--has been less frequently documented in recreation research and evaluation efforts.

When people are required to focus their attention and put forth sustained cognitive effort, it may lead to mental fatigue (R. Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; S. Kaplan, 1995). In turn, this may result in irritability, anxiety, anger, frustration, mental and physical fatigue, and may further diminish the ability to successfully perform cognitive tasks and address social demands (Kuo & Sullivan, 2001). Mental restoration is commonly considered a reversal of these effects, allowing for increased critical thinking, concentration and sustained focus (Kaplan, 2001).

Mental restoration is an important outcome to many park and recreation providers. In a generic sense, park and recreation providers foster a more productive and thoughtful citizenry by giving the public opportunities to restore attentional fatigue, reducing stress and providing cognitive rest.

Restoration Through the Physical Environment

According to environmental psychology literature, certain environments foster mental restoration (Hartig, 1993; Hartig, Mang & Evans, 1991; Kaplan & Talbot, 1983; Tennessen & Cimprich, 1995). For example, Bodin and Hartig (2003) found that running in a park environment promoted psychological restoration to a greater degree than running in an urban environment. R. Kaplan's (2001) study conducted at six low-rise apartment communities provides considerable support for the premise that having natural elements or settings in the view from the window contributes substantially to residents' satisfaction with their neighborhood and sense of well-being.

Kuo & Sullivan (2001) reported that residents living in buildings with relatively barren surroundings reported more aggression and violence than did their counterparts in buildings with greenery. Ulrich (2002) explained that findings from several studies indicate that simply viewing certain types of nature and garden scenes significantly reduce stress within five minutes or less, and have been shown to improve clinical outcomes through other mechanisms, such as increasing access to social support, and providing opportunities for positive escape from stressful clinical settings.

Restoration Through Recreation Activity

Less leisure research has focused specifically on the role of recreation activities such as sports, exercise or arts in mental (attention) restoration. However, literature suggests that recreation activity can have a positive effect on mood, stress and mental health. Heywood (1978) conducted one of the first studies investigating this relationship when he intentionally frustrated college students and then had them read, listen to music or watch television. He found that, universally, the participants who considered their activity as recreation exhibited lower levels of tension than those who were assigned to an activity not considered to be recreation.

In another study, McNaughten and Gabbard (1993) as reported by Tomporowski (2003) evaluated computation speed and accuracy of 120 sixth grade boys following paced walks in durations of 20, 30 and 40 minutes. They found that the walks had little effect on cognitive functioning in the morning, but that midday and afternoon evaluations showed that recreation resulted in significant improvements in mental functioning.

The study found that 30 and 40 minutes of activity showed better results than 20 minutes of activity. This suggests that when individuals become mentally fatigued (school afternoon versus school morning), mental capacity can be restored through participation in 30 to 40 minutes of recreation activity.

Other researchers have sought to determine the specific characteristics of activities that are most related to mental restoration. For example, Vance, Wadley, Ball, Roenker and Rizzo (2005) reported less anxiety after light cycling, but higher anxiety immediately after maximal exercise, which suggests that intensity level may influence the potential restoration level.

In a similar study, Tieman, Peacock, Cureton and Dishman (2002) found that less physically active participants reported less anxiety after light cycling, but higher anxiety immediately after maximal exercise, indicating that intensity level and individual characteristics can affect the degree of perceived restoration.

Rocheleau, Webster, Bryan and Frazier (2004) examined the effect of gender, exercise type (running, aerobics, bicycling or weight training), level of exertion, and duration of participation on the exercise-mood and relationship in participants at a university student recreation center. In general, longer durations of activity at lower intensities were associated with lower negative mood scores. Taken together, these findings suggest that intensity level, participant characteristics and duration can all impact restoration through recreation experiences.

Physical exercise enhances brain functioning by improving oxygen flow, and by mobilizing glucose more quickly through the release of the hormone epinephrine (Dustman & White, 2005). But research also suggests the social aspects of recreation participation have a positive effect on participants' mental states.

Restoration Through Social Aspects of Recreation

The importance of the social aspects of recreation participation has long been considered beneficial, and is thought to buffer the impacts of stress (Coleman & Iso-Ahola, 1993). For example, Iso-Ahola and Park (1996) found that for Tae Kwon Do participants, "leisure companionship"--defined as "shared leisure activities engaged in primarily for the sake of enjoyment"--limited the effect of stress on mental illness symptoms, as measured by levels of depression. In an example of one of the more recent studies, Iwasaki (2003) found that "leisure friendship" appeared to help university students reduce mental illness and enhance psychological well being. Orsega-Smith, Mowen, Payne and Godbey (2004) found that both park companionship and length of park stay were related to health outcomes in their recent study of adult park users.

While the link between social aspects of recreation and stress has been well established, others have tried to link these social aspects with other variables, such as cognition. For example, Vance, Wadley, Roenker and Rizzo (2005) tested the "social-stimulation hypothesis." They suggested that social contact improves cognitive functioning by reducing depression and stimulating the nervous system. Their findings suggest that community-dwelling older adults participating in regular recreation with others had improved cognition, and lowered depression.

Belch, Gebel, and Maas (2001) found that freshmen recreation center users had higher first semester GPAs and had completed more credit hours than nonusers at the end of their freshman year. Belch and colleagues state: "It appears that the facility provides manageable spaces for freshmen, in particular, not only to engage in recreational activity but also to interact with each other. More importantly, it may provide freshmen with an initial place where they inherently feel a sense of belonging as they seek additional or alternative ways of affiliating within the larger community." Such studies seem to support the premise that the social aspects of recreation participation may lead to increased cognitive performance.

In a study reported by S6derback (2004), 46 brain-damaged patients participated in a group horticultural therapy program at the Horticultural Therapy Garden in Danderyd Hospital Rehabilitation Clinic in Sweden. Social interaction, sensory stimulation, mental healing and recreation were found to be mediated by imagining nature, viewing nature and actual gardening. These results suggest that mental health can be restored through participating in group-related activities associated with natural environments. This concept is supported by the theoretical tenants of attention restoration theory.

Theoretical Framework for Targeting Mental Restoration

While alternative theoretical approaches may enhance mental restoration, perhaps the most widely used and universally applicable theoretical approach remains Attention Restoration Theory (ART) developed by Kaplan and Kaplan (1989). ART has highlighted the benefits of the environment to restore directed attention, attentional fatigue, and ways to achieve mental restoration (Kaplan, 1995, 2001; Hartig, 1997, 2004).

Fundamentally, this theory provides a medium in which a person's attention is involuntary or effortless rather than intentionally focused. The good news is that recreation and leisure time activities are naturally rich with the psychological ingredients that underlie this theory and are considered necessary for restorative experiences. These four distinct and necessary factors include Being Away, Fascination, Extent and Compatibility (Kaplan, 2001).

The first of the four ART properties is Being Away, which requires "being away" physically and/or being disengaged conceptually from everyday thoughts and experiences that tap attention. For example, parks, recreation centers and fitness facilities each provide a place for participants to escape from challenging and stressful situations. In addition to the environment, the activity itself can provide a being away experience.

The second factor, Fascination, requires that the experience of an environment or an activity contains patterns that shift thinking from effortful to effortless attention.

The third factor, Extent, has its roots in landscape preference research. Extent requires that an environment or situation hang together in a way that it is not too confusing or complex. Some environments, for example, with open views of lakes and mountains have been shown to be perceived as more restorative than urban streets or industrial zones which are either visually confusing or lack three-dimensional simplicity (Purcell, Peron, & Berto, 2001).

Lastly, Compatibility, involves goal fit and support for what one wants or is inclined to do. A participant who is looking for tranquility through a yoga class may not find the desired level of calm if the class meets in a racquetball court adjacent to booming music of the aerobics class.

Regardless of the specific mix, the key to mental restoration, according to ART, appears to be encouraging higher levels of involuntary attention while decreasing directed, voluntary attention. This principle applies across physical environments, recreation activities and social situations.

Conclusion

A review of current research supports recreation as a viable and valuable medium for mental restoration. The benefits of restoring attentionally fatigued individuals include improved mood, personal satisfaction, creative thinking, problem solving ability, and increased employee/student retention that are related to increased work performance and school achievement. By intentionally offering opportunities and programs for participants that are compatible with their goals, inherently interesting and provide mental detachment from other stressors, recreation providers can offer participants valuable opportunities for mental restoration.

Research into Action: Targeting Mental Restoration

* When possible, offer programs outdoors and in natural spaces that seem to be especially well suited to restore mental capacity. When this is not possible, adding plants and visually appealing interiors may be beneficial.

* In general, longer and lower intensity programs seem to be the most restorative. Some research argues that the aerobic component is necessary, but most studies have shown that activities which are too intense are not as restorative as more moderate activities.

* Design social opportunities into programs and facilities. Lounges and common areas, as well as participation opportunities for couples, friends, and families may help foster the social support that mitigates the effects of stress.

* Restorative experiences are largely person and population specific. While needs assessments can inform practitioners about user goals, program variety is also important as users will likely participate in the most goal compatible option.

* When possible combine several nurturing factors. For example, Soderback (2004) combined recreation activity (gardening), in a restorative outdoor environment, with a social group.

* By allowing users to select goal compatible and fascinating recreation activities in settings that offer an escape from everyday situations, recreation can be a powerful tool to reduce stress, anxiety, and tension and improve cognitive performance and affective mood.

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J.C. Norling is a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department. He is interested in active living research. He received his Master's degree in Recreation Administration from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he studied wilderness education and recreation Jim Sibthorp, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Utah, where he teaches courses in re search methods, experiential education and commercial recreation.