Examining the Effects of Exposure to Nature on Well-Being: Implications for College Campuses

Humans attraction to the natural environment stems from our evolutionary tendencies. Biophilia is defined by E.O. Wilson as the “innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes (Wilson, 1984, p. 1).” Recent studies have shown that spending time outside in nature is beneficial to physical and mental health as well as well-being. Nature is filled with intriguing things such as animals, plants, fresh air and other aspects which can help an individual replenish. Some of these benefits include stress reduction, opportunities and motivation to complete tasks. Research indicates that adults who work in offices would perform better if they had views of natural landscape painting or even a window which faced nature. This paper will provide a review of research on how nature affects human well-being and mental health. The findings in this paper can be beneficial to college students and those assisting them in a number of ways. Based on the available research literature, this paper concludes with a set of recommendations of how attention to the influence of nature can enhance the quality of campus life and the literature. As mostly young individuals transitioning into the adult world, it would help influence their well-being in a positive way that will promote creativity and motivation

Restorative Virtual Environment Design for Augmenting Nursing Home Rehabilitation

With increasing age, muscle strength decreases excessively rapidly if physical activity is not maintained. However, physical activity is increasingly difficult with aging. This is due to balance, strength or coordination difficulties, arthritis, etc. Moreover, many nursing home residents become unable to experience natural surroundings. Augmenting a conventional biking exercise with a recreational virtual environment (RVE) has shown to serve as an intrinsic motivation contributor to exercise for nursing home residents. RVEs might be able to provide some of the health benefits that regular nature experiences do. More studies on content of proper custom designs for RVEs are necessary. This paper reviews the background for RVE design, describes four custom RVE designs for recreational VE exploration and presents user preferences among nursing home users concerning content and other pivotal design considerations

Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice

22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3

Taking real steps in virtual nature: a randomized blinded trial

Studies show that green exercise (i.e., physical activity in the presence of nature) can provide the synergistic psychophysiological benefits of both physical exercise and nature exposure. The present study aimed to investigate the extent to which virtual green exercise may extend these benefits to people that are unable to engage in active visits to natural environments, as well as to promote enhanced exercise behavior. After watching a video validated to elicit sadness, participants either performed a treadmill walk while exposed to one of two virtual conditions, which were created using different techniques (360° video or 3D model), or walked on a treadmill while facing a blank wall (control). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected in relation to three overarching themes: “Experience,” “Physical engagement” and “Psychophysiological recovery.” Compared to control, greater enjoyment was found in the 3D model, while lower walking speed was found in the 360° video. No significant differences among conditions were found with respect to heart rate, perceived exertion, or changes in blood pressure and affect. The analysis of qualitative data provided further understanding on the participants’ perceptions and experiences. These findings indicate that 3D model-based virtual green exercise can provide some additional benefits compared to indoor exercise, while 360° video-based virtual green exercise may result in lower physical engagement.publishedVersio

Camera Stabilization in 360° Videos and Its Impact on Cyber Sickness, Environmental Perceptions, and Psychophysiological Responses to a Simulated Nature Walk: A Single-Blinded Randomized Trial

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) technology has emerged as a valuable tool to environmental psychology research in general, and specifically to studies of human–nature interactions. However, virtual reality is known to induce cyber sickness, which limits its application and highlights the need for scientific strategies to optimize virtual experiences. In this study, we assessed the impact of improved camera stability on cyber sickness, presence, and psychophysiological responses to a simulated nature walk. In a single-blinded trial, 50 participants were assigned to watch, using a head-mounted display, one of two 10-min 360° videos showing a first-person nature walk: one video contained small-magnitude scene oscillations associated with cameraman locomotion, while in the other video, the oscillations were drastically reduced thanks to an electric stabilizer and a dolly. Measurements of cyber sickness (in terms of both occurrence and severity of symptoms), perceptions of the IVE (presence and perceived environmental restorativeness), and indicators of psychophysiological responses [affect, enjoyment, and heart rate (HR)] were collected before and/or after the exposure. Compared to the low-stability (LS) condition, in the high-stability (HS) condition, participants reported lower severity of cyber sickness symptoms. The delta values for pre–post changes in affect for the LS video revealed a deterioration of participants’ affect profile with a significant increase in ratings of negative affect and fatigue, and decrease in ratings of positive affect. In contrast, there were no pre–post changes in affect for the HS video. No differences were found between the HS and LS conditions with respect to presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, enjoyment, and HR. Cyber sickness was significantly correlated with all components of affect and enjoyment, but not with presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, or HR. These findings demonstrate that improved camera stability in 360° videos is crucial to reduce cyber sickness symptoms and negative affective responses in IVE users. The lack of associations between improved stability and presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, and HR suggests that other aspects of IVE technology must be taken into account in order to improve virtual experiences of nature.publishedVersio

Perceived environmental restorativeness and affective responses to indoor vs. outdoor exercise

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of environmental setting (indoor vs. outdoor) on affect and attentional focus during exercise. In this counterbalanced, repeated measures design, 26 women (ages 18-26) exercised at a moderate intensity (60-70% of MHR) for 30 minutes in two settings: indoor track and outdoor path. Participants filled out dimensional measures of affect pre- and post-exercise: Activation Deactivation Adjective Check List, Feeling Scale (FS), and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS). FS, FAS, and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed every 10 minutes during exercise. Post-exercise, participants also filled out the Attentional Focus Questionnaire, Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), and Evaluation of Exercise Setting. Mixed analyses of variance with order as a between-subjects factor and time and setting as within-subjects factors indicated that exercise, regardless of setting, resulted in significant reductions in tiredness, F(1, 24) = 11.58, p = .002, and significant increases in affective valence, F(1.9, 46.1) = 7.1, p = .002, arousal, F(2.29, 55.02) = 21.65, p These findings suggest that being in an outdoor environment can make exercise more enjoyable, particularly for less active individuals. Future research might examine the environment's impact on longer-term adherence and mood, and ways to manipulate exercise settings to promote enjoyment and positive affect