National property firm Strutt & Parker considers research that suggests that those living in the countryside may be able to focus on one task better than those who live in the city.

Living in the city and the countryside each have their respective benefits, but a new study suggests that living in an urban or rural environment affects the way we concentrate.

Researchers from Goldsmiths, University of London, discovered that people living a more rural lifestyle could more easily focus their attention.

Ed Church from Strutt & Parker’s Canterbury office comments: “While all the fast-moving, buzzy aspects of living in a city are what make it so appealing for many, this research could suggest there is a tipping point at which excessive stimulation hinders concentration and the quiet country life could be soothing for the mind."

The university's psychology department conducted cognitive tests with members of Namibia's Himba tribe, including those who have remained in the countryside all their lives and others who have migrated to towns and cities.

It was found that the rural members of the tribe performed significantly better in tests requiring concentration than the others who lived in urban settings.

The university's Dr Katrina Linnell compared them with young students living in London and discovered that the urban Himba's results were "indistinguishable" from the outcomes gleaned from the British undergraduates.

It is suggested by the Goldsmiths team that the myriad of sights and sounds in a city environment could shift the emphasis of the brain from an ability to focus on individual items to a more multitasking mode that does not aid concentration.
Dr Linnell points out that it's not a simple case of city or countryside being better or worse, but rather it may be symptomatic of what is needed to thrive in a given setting.

Church concludes: “Either way, it certainly provides some fascinating food for thought for anyone starting out on a property search and grappling with that age old dilemma of whether to buy a city pad or instead focus their attention on rural properties for sale”.