Why Nature Sharpens the Mind: A MovNat Perspective on Outdoor Movement and Cognition

By Brian Betancourt

Director of Curriculum & Performance, MovNat

In 2025, a groundbreaking study confirmed what many natural movers have long intuited: physical activity performed outdoors leads to sharper cognition than the same activity performed indoors.

In the study, kids aged 11–13 completed identical basketball sessions—one indoors, one outdoors—followed by cognitive tests. The results were clear: outdoor movement led to faster reaction times, better attention, and improved working memory. And the effects weren’t fleeting—they were still present 45 minutes later.

So why does the outdoors enhance mental performance?

And perhaps more importantly: how has MovNat been harnessing these effects—without being a sport or classroom-based system—since day one?

To understand the findings, let’s unpack two of the tests used in the study:

• The Stroop Test measures inhibitory control—your brain’s ability to suppress distractions. For example, the word “Blue” may appear on screen written in red ink. You’re asked to name the ink color, not read the word. The challenge? Your brain wants to do the automatic thing (read the word), but the test rewards focus and control.

• The Flanker Task assesses selective attention and response inhibition. Participants are asked to respond to a target symbol (like an arrow) flanked by distracting symbols pointing in other directions. It’s a test of how quickly and accurately you can filter out noise and focus on what matters.

Improvements in these tasks signal better executive function, sharper attentional control, and faster information processing—essential for learning, problem-solving, and decision-making at every age.

Yes. The researchers used basketball drills—chosen for their accessibility, intensity, and ability to be identically replicated indoors and outdoors.

MovNat, by contrast, is not sport. We don’t play games or chase scores.

Instead, we solve movement problems in context. We climb, crawl, balance, lift, and navigate through terrain—often with no two repetitions looking the same.

So why do we draw lessons from a basketball study?

Because the key finding isn’t about sport—it’s about environment and engagement. What the study really showed is this:

Cognitive gains are amplified when physical movement is layered with novelty, unpredictability, and rich sensory input.

Whether it’s a dribbling drill on pavement or a natural crawl over tree roots, the brain responds to challenge, context, and environment.

That’s why our recommendations work—even outside of sport.

In MovNat, we build environments that demand attention, adaptation, and decision-making:

• A narrow fallen log forces balance, timing, and visual tracking.
• Uneven terrain trains proprioception and executive control.
• Lifting a rock of unknown weight teaches problem-solving and body awareness in real time.

Each movement is a mental puzzle, not a repetitive drill. This mirrors the same domains tested by the Stroop and Flanker tasks—but in a real-world, embodied way.

So why does the outdoor environment amplify these effects?

Researchers point to two core theories:

1. Attention Restoration Theory (ART):
   Natural environments gently stimulate our senses without overwhelming them, giving the brain space to recover its focus. It’s like a mental reset.

    

2. Stress Reduction Theory:
   Nature reduces cortisol, quiets the threat response, and allows for a more parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) state—priming the brain for cognitive clarity.

Interestingly, the study found that kids had better brain outcomes outdoors—even when they moved less and sprinted less. That suggests environment—not just effort—was the deciding factor.

Whether you train athletes, clients, or kids, here’s how to use these findings immediately:

• Incorporate real-world textures: grass, sand, stone, wood.
• Choose varied environments over sterile ones. Let movement be shaped by space, slope, and surface.
• Use task-based challenges: balance on something narrow, crawl under something low, or lift something awkward.
• Train outdoors whenever possible—even for five minutes. Nature is the original co-regulator.

These aren’t just physical challenges. They’re neurological workouts—and MovNat has been using them all along.

Final Thought

The Walters study didn’t validate sport. It validated natural movement in natural settings—whether you’re bouncing a ball or balancing on a beam.

What improves cognition is not the ball.

It’s the unpredictability, the engagement, and the richness of the task.

And that’s what MovNat was built for.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brian Betancourt

Director of Curriculum & Performance

A movement strategist and exercise physiologist with over a decade of experience coaching athletes, leading performance programs, and designing educational systems. As MovNat’s Director of Curriculum and Performance, Betancourt is responsible for evolving the brand’s instructional framework, certification pathways, and benchmark systems to meet the needs of a modern, capability-driven audience.

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