This page gathers research papers, articles, and external resources related to attention, presence, and cognitive load in stimulating or unfamiliar environments.
Sources here inform Nomadic Balance content on digital distraction, mindfulness, overstimulation, and staying mentally present while travelling.
Sources
Mindfulness Training as a Clinical Intervention: A Conceptual and Empirical Review
An early, widely cited review that explains what “mindfulness training” is in clinical settings and summarises the evidence (and limitations) for mindfulness-based interventions at the time.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy/bpg015
Does Mindfulness Training Improve Cognitive Abilities? A Systematic Review of Neuropsychological Findings
A systematic review looking at whether mindfulness training is associated with measurable changes in attention, memory, and executive function on cognitive tasks.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.11.003
A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind
A landmark paper linking mind-wandering to lower moment-to-moment happiness, helping explain why attention to the present can matter for wellbeing.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1192439
Task Switching
A clear overview of what happens in the brain and behaviour when we rapidly shift between tasks, including the “switch cost” that can make us slower and more error-prone right after switching.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(03)00028-7
Research on Attention Networks as a Model for the Integration of Psychological Science
A major review mapping attention into interacting networks (e.g., alerting, orienting, executive control), useful for understanding focus, self-regulation, and distraction.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085516
The Nature of Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity: Active Maintenance in Primary Memory and Controlled Search From Secondary Memory
A foundational paper explaining why working memory capacity differs between people, highlighting both “holding information available” and “searching/retrieving” as key mechanisms.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.114.1.104
Mental Fatigue and Cognitive Energy
Explains how sustained mental effort leads to cognitive fatigue, reduced attention, and weaker self-regulation – useful for understanding why decision-making and restraint decline under prolonged load.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresrev.2008.07.001
The Psychology of Fatigue, Effort, and Control
A foundational text showing how decision load and perceived lack of control drive stress and fatigue, and why reducing unnecessary cognitive demands through planning and structure protects wellbeing.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO978113901539
Psychological Restoration in Natural vs. Cultural Destinations
This study explores how different travel environments support mental restoration, finding that both natural and cultural settings can be restorative- especially when they balance novelty with a sense of familiarity.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2025.101343
Nature Exposure and Attention Restoration: A Meta-Analysis
This meta-analysis shows that time spent in natural environments reliably supports attention restoration, with longer exposure generally leading to stronger cognitive benefits.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102196
Mindfulness in Tourism: A Systematic Review Update
This updated systematic review maps how mindfulness is being conceptualised and applied in tourism research, showing consistent links with attention, emotional regulation, and more present travel experiences without overstating outcomes.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-023-01736-2
Fear of Missing Out, Anxiety, and Problematic Smartphone Use
This study shows that fear of missing out (FOMO), alongside anxiety and depressive symptoms, is closely linked to problematic smartphone use—suggesting that emotional regulation, not just habit, plays a central role in compulsive phone checking.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.079
Procrastination, Internet Use, and Psychological Functioning
Findings from a large community sample indicate that higher trait procrastination is associated with more problematic internet use and poorer psychological wellbeing, reinforcing links between self-regulation and digital behaviour.
🔗https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.130
Smartphones and Cognition: What the Evidence Shows
This narrative review synthesises research showing associations between heavy smartphone use and reduced attentional control, working memory performance, and cognitive flexibility, while carefully noting the limits of causal claims.
🔗https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00605