The acute psychological effects of screen time and the restorative potential of nature immersion amongst adolescents: A randomised pre-post pilot study

Excessive screen time can deplete the cognitive resources required for effective emotion regulation, such as sustained attention and inhibitory control. Contrastingly, time spent in natural environments encourages attention restoration and stress reduction. Therefore, time in natural environments may be important for buffering the psychological consequences of screen time. A randomised pre-post pilot study was undertaken to investigate the acute psychological effects of screen time in adolescents, and to explore the restorative potential of nature immersion. Eighty-seven adolescents (52% female, mean age = 15.5 years) participated in the study. Participants completed measures of mood, sustained attention capacity (Sustained Attention to Response Task), and inhibitory control (Stop-Signal Task) at three time-points: (1) at baseline, (2) after a 30-minute period of screen time, and (3) after a 20-minute period of rest. Participants were randomised to either an indoor setting or an outdoor environment (Botanic Gardens) for the rest period. Linear mixed modelling was used to examine the effect of time and resting condition on the outcome variables. A lack of change in baseline mood, sustained attention capacity, and inhibitory control was observed following the brief screen time period, which limited the ability to test the relative benefit of the outdoor vs indoor environment. The study demonstrated the feasibility of a novel and ecologically valid paradigm to test this relationship in school students, but future studies should look to apply the recommendations provided regarding altering the attentional demands of the screen time activity used. The potential for natural environments to benefit student wellbeing and performance remains an important area of continued research.