Altered EEG patterns co-vary with specific improvements in mind health at summer camp

Abstract

The mental health and wellbeing or `mind health', which we define as the ability to navigate challenges and function productively, of adolescents has declined substantially over the last two decades corresponding with fundamental changes in their daily environments. These include the widespread adoption of smartphones and social media as well as reduced sleep and time spent in nature. Device free, nature-rich summer camps represent a shift in environment that has been shown to have behavioral and mental health benefits. However, neural mechanisms underlying these changes remain unknown. Here we examined EEG spectral and complexity measures in adolescents ( N=30) before and after a three-week device-free, nature-rich residential summer camp. Following the intervention, participants exhibited steeper aperiodic slopes, increased DFA scaling exponents, reduced entropy and Lempel-Ziv complexity, and decreased alpha and beta power, a convergent pattern consistent with a shift toward more structured or less random neural dynamics characterized by relatively greater inhibitory influence. These neural changes co-varied with reduced restlessness and hyperactivity, improved focus, sleep quality, and overall mind health in a subsample (N=23) with both EEG recordings and self-reported mind health data. Precision analyses further confirmed the specificity of this relationship. Subjects who showed EEG changes beyond a defined threshold showed improvements in mind health metrics with high precision up to 100%. Our findings demonstrate that the benefits of device-free, nature immersion with peers extend beyond self-reported mind health to measurable shifts in underlying brain dynamics, suggesting that exposure to device-free natural environments supports adolescent neural and psychological health. Trial registration : ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07761143.