Seek both green and blue space

Include water settings, not only greenery, in your restorative time.

Why it works

Both vegetated ("green") and water-based ("blue") environments offer the soft fascination and coherence that ART says drive restoration. Water in particular tends to score high on perceived restorativeness, giving another reliable route to engage attention gently and recover directed focus.

How to do it

1. When possible, choose routes or spots near water — a river, lake, shore, or fountain.
2. Combine green and blue space when both are accessible.
3. Spend the time attending to the scene rather than to your phone.

Evidence

A growing body of "blue space" research associates time near water with improved wellbeing and restoration, broadly consistent with green-space findings. A systematic review of outdoor blue spaces found consistent associations with better mental health and wellbeing, and a large study links weekly nature contact — green or blue — to self-reported good health. (observational)

Much blue-space evidence is observational and confounded by access, activity, and socioeconomic factors; the direction is encouraging but causal strength is limited.

Sources

• White et al., blue-space exposure and wellbeing research
• Gascon, M., Zijlema, W., Vert, C., White, M. P., & Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J. (2017). Outdoor blue spaces, human health and well-being: A systematic review of quantitative studies. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 220(8), 1207–1221.
• White, M. P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B. W., Hartig, T., Warber, S. L., Bone, A., Depledge, M. H., & Fleming, L. E. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports, 9, 7730.

Common mistake

Assuming only forests "count" and overlooking accessible water settings that may be just as restorative and easier to reach.