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Description: The psychological benefits of interacting with nature have been discussed for well over a century. More recently, research has begun to assess how interactions with nature specifically may benefit cognition and cognitive development. Attention Restoration Theory (ART) posits that stimuli found in nature may restore directed attention functioning through reducing demands on the endogenous attention system. In the present experiment, we assessed whether nature-related cognitive benefits extended to auditory presentations of nature. To assess directed attention, we created a composite measure consisting of a backward digit span task and a dual n-back task. Participants completed these cognitive measures and an affective questionnaire before and after listening to and aesthetically judging either nature or urban soundscapes. Relative to participants who were exposed to urban soundscapes, we observed significant improvements in cognitive performance for individuals who listened to nature soundscapes. Urban soundscapes did not systematically affect performance either adversely or beneficially. The improvement in directed attention functioning was not meaningfully related to the aesthetic ratings of the soundscapes. These results provide initial evidence that brief experiences with nature sounds can improve directed attention functioning in a single experimental session.