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Introduction There are significant benefits to exposing children to nature, including reduced risk of mental illness, enhanced attentional capacity, and greater circadian synchronisation. Furthermore, recent findings indicate exposure to greenspace is positively associated with improved sleep quality and quantity in adults. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding the impact of nature exposure and outdoor play on sleep measures for children. This systematic review aims to investigate whether nature experience through play or education has a significant effect on sleep measures in children. Methods Articles were searched for using 7 databases and Google Advanced Search for grey literature searching. The review is in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and is registered with PROSPERO. Articles were screened using Covidence. The target population included children aged 3 to 13 years old. The main outcome was sleep measures (i.e., sleep latency, duration, and/or quality), and the intervention was (including, but not limited to) outdoor play, nature exposure, or/and nature education. Results The article search returned 2538 articles; 9 of those articles contained adequate results for direct inclusion and analysis. The majority of the 9 articles demonstrated no association between increased outdoor play or nature exposure and sleep outcomes. However, the results are not yet finalised with further data to potentially be included. Discussion Preliminary observations posit there is insufficient literature to determine the influence of nature play and education on children’s sleep outcomes. It may be suggested that future research focuses more directly on the relationship between nature and children’s sleep. |
