Different types of virtual natural environments enhance subjective vitality through restorativeness

The body of evidence supporting the psychological benefits of exposure to virtual nature, such as increased mood and decreased stress, is rapidly growing. However, few studies have explored the potential of virtual nature to boost subjective vitality, defined as a positive feeling of aliveness and energy. In this contribution, we investigate the role of virtual nature in enhancing subjective vitality through restorativeness. In particular, we expand the existing literature by considering different types of natural environments (i.e., a national park, a lacustrine environment, and an arctic environment vs. an urban environment). We designed a randomized between-subject design with a sample of 113 university students (Mage = 21.99, SD = 1.82). Participants were exposed to four 360-degree panoramic photos with a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display. We collected measures of the variables of interest immediately before and after exposure, and a series of control variables (i.e., sociodemographics, individual differences and personal conditions, previous VR experience, frequency of contact with nature, and variables related to participants’ experience during VR). We performed a mediation analysis with a multicategorical independent variable (i.e., the experimental condition). Results confirmed our hypotheses, with three significant indirect effects of virtual nature exposure on subjective vitality through restorativeness, one for each natural environment as compared to the urban environment. The wide range of practical implications for different types of psychological interventions as well as future research directions are discussed

Nature-based solutions and mental health

This chapter demonstrates the mental health benefits of nature-based solutions in cities. First, factors that determine urban mental health and adverse health effects of environmental stressors in cities are explained. Second, it is demonstrated that green spaces as nature-based solutions for many societal challenges provide co-benefits for mental health by reducing these stressors. It is further discussed how nature-based solutions may target supporting mental health by providing resources for human–nature interaction, enhancing social interaction and strengthening mental resilience. Nature-based interventions that are originally intended to support persons with psychiatric illness are introduced as models for the design of mentally supportive cities. And third, two case studies illustrate the mental health benefits of urban parks with the example of Leipzig, Germany and of street trees by the example of Hyderabad, India. The two case studies were used as application cases for a recent conceptual framework as a guide for putting science into practice

Applying an ecosystem services framework on nature and mental health to recreational blue space visits across 18 countries

The effects of ‘nature’ on mental health and subjective well-being have yet to be consistently integrated into ecosystem service models and frameworks. To address this gap, we used data on subjective mental well-being from an 18-country survey to test a conceptual model integrating mental health with ecosystem services, initially proposed by Bratman et al. We analysed a range of individual and contextual factors in the context of 14,998 recreational visits to blue spaces, outdoor environments which prominently feature water. Consistent with the conceptual model, subjective mental well-being outcomes were dependent upon on a complex interplay of environmental type and quality, visit characteristics, and individual factors. These results have implications for public health and environmental management, as they may help identify the bluespace locations, environmental features, and key activities, that are most likely to impact well-being, but also potentially affect recreational demand on fragile aquatic ecosystems

Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective

A growing body of empirical evidence is revealing the value of nature experience for mental health. With rapid urbanization and declines in human contact with nature globally, crucial decisions must be made about how to preserve and enhance opportunities for nature experience. Here, we first provide points of consensus across the natural, social, and health sciences on the impacts of nature experience on cognitive functioning, emotional well-being, and other dimensions of mental health. We then show how ecosystem service assessments can be expanded to include mental health, and provide a heuristic, conceptual model for doing so

Susceptibility to stress and nature exposure: Unveiling differential susceptibility to physical environments; a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundEmerging epidemiological evidence indicates nature exposure could be associated with greater health benefits among groups in lower versus higher socioeconomic positions. One possible mechanism underpinning this evidence is described by our framework: (susceptibility) adults in low socioeconomic positions face higher exposure to persistent psychosocial stressors in early life, inducing a pro-inflammatory phenotype as a lifelong susceptibility to stress; (differential susceptibility) susceptible adults are more sensitive to the health risks of adverse (stress-promoting) environments, but also to the health benefits of protective (stress-buffering) environments.ObjectiveExperimental investigation of a pro-inflammatory phenotype as a mechanism facilitating greater stress recovery from nature exposure.MethodsWe determined differences in stress recovery (via heart rate variability) caused by exposure to a nature or office virtual reality environment (10 min) after an acute stressor among 64 healthy college-age males with varying levels of susceptibility (socioeconomic status, early life stress, and a pro-inflammatory state [inflammatory reactivity and glucocorticoid resistance to an in vitro bacterial challenge]).ResultsFindings for inflammatory reactivity and glucocorticoid resistance were modest but consistently trended towards better recovery in the nature condition. Differences in recovery were not observed for socioeconomic status or early life stress.DiscussionAmong healthy college-age males, we observed expected trends according to their differential susceptibility when assessed as inflammatory reactivity and glucocorticoid resistance, suggesting these biological correlates of susceptibility could be more proximal indicators than self-reported assessments of socioeconomic status and early life stress. If future research in more diverse populations aligns with these trends, this could support an alternative conceptualization of susceptibility as increased environmental sensitivity, reflecting heightened responses to adverse, but also protective environments. With this knowledge, future investigators could examine how individual differences in environmental sensitivity could provide an opportunity for those who are the most susceptible to experience the greatest health benefits from nature exposure

Inequitable Changes to Time Spent in Urban Nature during COVID-19: A Case Study of Seattle, WA with Asian, Black, Latino, and White Residents

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone in urban areas. Some of these impacts in the United States have negatively affected People of Color more than their White counterparts. Using Seattle, Washington as a case study, we investigated whether inequitable effects appear in residents’ interactions with urban nature (such as urban green space). Using a 48-question instrument, 300 residents were surveyed, equally divided across four racial/ethnic groups: Asian, Black and African American, Latino/a/x, and White. Results showed that during the span of about 6 months after the onset of the pandemic, Black and Latino residents experienced a significant loss of time in urban nature, while Asian and White residents did not. The implications of these findings, including inequities in the potential buffering effects of urban nature against COVID-19 and the future of urban nature conservation, are discussed. Multiple variables were tested for association with the changes to time spent in urban nature, including themes of exclusion from urban nature spaces found throughout the existing literature. Findings show that decreases in time spent in urban nature among Black and Latino residents may be associated with their feeling as though they did not belong in urban nature. We provide recommendations based on these findings for how government agencies can promote more equitable access to urban nature during the pandemic and beyond. The results of this study have implications that extend beyond the US and are relevant to the international scholarly literature of inequities and urban nature interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic

Interaction plots: Maximum information.

Interaction plots visualizing significant associations (slopes) between susceptibility and stress recovery (autonomic activation) by condition group (nature [solid black line] versus office [dashed gray line]). Y-axes present sympathetic or parasympathetic activation using fitted values (unstandardized) from the corresponding regression model (baseline adjusted metric of autonomic activity [log] during the recovery period [40 min]). X-axes present susceptibility indicators using log-values. P-values denote the simple slope for the nature (black) or office (gray) condition; error bands represent the standard error for each slope. Points denote participants in the nature (black triangle) or office (gray circle) condition. Type III effects represent the interaction term. (TIF)</p