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Stress Recovery During Exposure to Natural and Urban Environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 11: 201-230
Abstract and Figures
Different conceptual perspectives converge to predict that if individuals are stressed, an encounter with most unthreatening natural environments will have a stress reducing or restorative influence, whereas many urban environments will hamper recuperation. Hypotheses regarding emotional, attentional and physiological aspects of stress reducing influences of nature are derived from a psycho-evolutionary theory. To investigate these hypotheses, 120 subjects first viewed a stressful movie, and then were exposed to color/sound videotapes of one of six different natural and urban settings. Data concerning stress recovery during the environmental presentations were obtained from self-ratings of affective states and a battery of physiological measures: heart period, muscle tension, skin conductance and pulse transit time, a non-invasive measure that correlates with systolic blood pressure. Findings from the physiological and verbal measures converged to indicate that recovery was faster and more complete when subjects were exposed to natural rather than urban environments. The pattern of physiological findings raised the possibility that responses to nature had a salient parasympathetic nervous system component; however, there was no evidence of pronounced parasympathetic involvement in responses to the urban settings. There were directional differences in cardiac responses to the natural vs urban settings, suggesting that attention/intake was higher during the natural exposures. However, both the stressor film and the nature settings elicited high levels of involuntary or automatic attention, which contradicts the notion that restorative influences of nature stem from involuntary attention or fascination. Findings were consistent with the predictions of the psycho-evolutionary theory that restorative influences of nature involve a shift towards a more positively-toned emotional state, positive changes in physiological activity levels, and that these changes are accompanied by sustained attention/intake. Content differences in terms of natural vs human-made properties appeared decisive in accounting for the differences in recuperation and perceptual intake.
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... 58). In the environmental psychology literature, this process is explained by two major theories, namely the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) [40] and the Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) [41,42]. Both theories propose that specifically designed environments can trigger cognitive and affective processes, allowing psychological, physiological and social resources to be restored [42,43]. ...
... In the environmental psychology literature, this process is explained by two major theories, namely the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) [40] and the Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) [41,42]. Both theories propose that specifically designed environments can trigger cognitive and affective processes, allowing psychological, physiological and social resources to be restored [42,43]. The ART focuses on the capacity to direct attention, a more cognitive process [43], and the SRT focuses on reducing stress and negative moods, a more affective process [42]. ...
... Both theories propose that specifically designed environments can trigger cognitive and affective processes, allowing psychological, physiological and social resources to be restored [42,43]. The ART focuses on the capacity to direct attention, a more cognitive process [43], and the SRT focuses on reducing stress and negative moods, a more affective process [42]. Despite these differences, both theories are often used simultaneously to research the mental health effects of restorative environments [44]. ...
Exposure to stress and attention fatigue resulting from changes in capabilities and residing in environments that do not align with individual needs can adversely impact older adults’ mental health and complicate ageing-in-place. Research into the psychological restoration process can help assist in alleviating these issues. Existing research on restoration perspectives has predominantly centred on university students and lacks comprehensive insights into older adults. Consequently, this study seeks to acquire a deeper understanding of the restorative theory framework within the context of ageing populations. We identified and analysed thirty-nine papers on the restoration process of older adults employing the scoping review method. Our findings indicate that adjustments to the general restorative theory framework are imperative for ageing populations. By incorporating additional features—such as being with and familiarity—the framework can more effectively support the development of age-inclusive neighbourhoods that enhance the mental health of the older population and facilitate healthy ageing-in-place. While more in-depth research is required on the restoration process of older adults, this research marks the initial in adapting the general framework to ageing populations. Furthermore, insight is given into how the adapted framework can contribute to help address the challenges of global ageing and support ageing-in-place.
... Neighborhood greenspace may improve birth outcomes through multiple psychophysiological, behavioral, and environmental pathways, categorized into domains of restoration, instoration, and mitigation [11]. Restorative environments theories, including Stress Reduction Theory and Attention Restoration Theory, posit that, under antecedent conditions of stress and mental fatigue, greenspace exposure improves mood, enhances attention, and reduces perceived and physiological stress [17,18]. Accumulating experimental evidence over the past three decades supports these hypotheses [19]. ...
Growing research investigates the perinatal health benefits of greenspace in a mother’s prenatal environment. However, evidence of associations between residential greenspace and birth outcomes remains mixed, limiting the relevance this work holds for urban policy and greening interventions. Past research relies predominantly on cross-sectional designs that are vulnerable to residential selection bias, and rarely tests effect modification by maternal race/ethnicity, which may contribute to heterogeneous findings. This study uses a rigorous, longitudinal sibling comparison design and maternal fixed effect analyses to test whether increases in maternal exposure to residential greenspace between pregnancies precede improved birth outcomes among non-Hispanic (NH) white (n = 247,285) and Black (n = 54,995) mothers (mean age = 28 years) who had at least two consecutive live births in California between 2005 and 2015. Results show that increases in residential greenspace correspond with higher birthweight (coef. = 75.49, 95% CI: 23.48, 127.50) among Black, but not white (coef. = −0.51, 95% CI: −22.90, 21.90), infants. Additional analyses suggest that prior evidence of perinatal benefits associated with residential greenspace among white mothers may arise from residential selection; no such bias is observed for Black mothers. Taken together, these findings support urban greening initiatives in historically under-resourced neighborhoods. Efforts to evenly distribute residential greenspace may reduce persistent racial disparities in birth outcomes, an important step towards promoting health equity across the life course.
... Our findings showed that participants desired a safe environment, including natural elements. This preference is aligned with several environment psychological theories such as attention restore theory [30,31], stress reduction theory [26,63], and prospect-refuge theory [17,51]. These theories suggested that an environment with a safe cover(refuge), a proper prospect, and fascinating natural scenes can make people restored, manifested in stable emotions, positive affect, lower heart rate, and lower blood pressure. ...
... The children's preference for natural sounds is in line with literature suggesting that nature-related settings might facilitate stress recovery (Stress Reduction Theory; Ulrich et al., 1991). Indeed, exposure of students in the classroom to natural sounds has a positive effect on comfort (mediated by the sound level; Pellegatti et al., 2023) and learning performance (Luo et al., 2022) and has a restorative effect on memory and attention (Shu and Ma, 2019). ...
Soundscape research on indoor environments is emerging as a topic to be addressed for the design of supportive, healthier, and more comfortable spaces. Only a few studies so far addressed the context of educational buildings, mainly focusing on high schools and universities. This pilot study uses questionnaires based on pictorial scales to investigate the indoor soundscape of classrooms for primary school children (n = 130; 8–10 years old). Perceived loudness and the affective dimensions of pleasantness and arousal were explored. Besides the actual soundscape, the children's ideal soundscape was investigated as well. The results of the study indicate that the most frequent sounds in classrooms are generated by the students themselves (voices, movements) followed by the traffic. The urban context of the school modulates the children's perception when windows are open to ensure natural ventilation. Pleasantness is associated with students' age, perceived loudness, and frequency of children's voices in nearby classrooms. The frequency of hearing indoor sounds (children's voices) and sirens affects students' arousal. Our results indicate that children at school are mostly exposed to unpleasant sounds, whereas their preferred ones are music and nature-related ones. The findings have implications for the design of positive and inclusive learning environments.
Introduction
People with Learning disabilities (LD) are marginalised within society and experience reduced occupational participation compared to the general population. Research exploring the lived experiences of adults with LD is limited. Gardening has a long history as an Occupational Therapy (OT) intervention with evidence of its benefits for well-being. Yet, previous work with adults with LD has focused on the perspective of the practitioner and has failed to address participant experience. This study aimed to understand the lived experiences of people with LD taking part in a gardening group.
Methods
Adults with LD, participating in a charity-run gardening group were recruited to a qualitative, phenomenological study. With consent, participants engaged in a semi-structured interview exploring their experiences of being a member of the gardening group. Thematic analysis was utilised to interpret the results.
Results
Seven interviews were completed. Four main themes indicated that the gardening group helped aid relaxation, provided sense of achievement, developed practical and social skills, and was a lifeline to make friendships.
Conclusions
OTs should utilise these findings to inform practice and reduce occupation deprivation. Future research should explore how environment, activities and participation time, impact the occupation of gardening for adults with a LD.
Centenarians are a small but increasing population of interest. A growing body of literature identifies a combination of potential genetic, environmental, and social factors that contribute to well-being and longevity. While naturalists have praised the benefits of nature for human health and well-being for centuries, only relatively recently have researchers begun to study and write about the impact of nature on longevity and successful aging.
Aging and elderly health issues have always been the focus of attention, both within and outside the industry. With the introduction of the national “14th Five-Year Plan” for healthy aging, it is urgent to address how to implement this plan. Among them, the restorative environment is an important part of implementing healthy aging. For older adults, “nostalgia” is a common emotional experience, and “nostalgia therapy” is also commonly used for mental health recovery, which has important significance for healthy aging. However, although existing research on “nostalgia” has already involved local attachment and the environment, there are few studies that use space as a carrier in the context of environmental restorative effects. Therefore, from the perspective of healthy aging, combined with structural equation modeling, this study took four parks in Changchun City as examples to explore the role of “nostalgia” in the restorative effect of the park environment. It found that, firstly, both the “nostalgia inclination” influenced by individual conditions and the “landscape perception” influenced by landscape quality had a positive impact on the “nostalgia affection”; secondly, nostalgia affection and place attachment were important mediating factors for environmental restorative effects, and the pathways of “landscape perception → nostalgic affection → environmental restorative effects”, “landscape perception → place attachment → environmental restorative effects”, and “landscape perception → nostalgic affection → place attachment → environmental restorative effects” all existed. Based on the above path exploration, corresponding spatial optimization ideas for effectively improving the health level of older adults have been provided.
This paper focuses on the relationship between Mental Health and the Landscape. It aims to find out how people respond to Biophilic inspired landscape design in a healthcare setting. The focal point is not to cure diseases but to help them deal with the physiological, psychological, and psycho-social imbalance and provide a healing environment for the overall well-being of an individual. For this study, a Multispecialty Hospital was selected where an Indoor Healing Garden is used as a retrofitting tool to reduce stress and thus reconnect humans with nature. A multi-method approach is being used for this study. Initially, a questionnaire was conducted for the targeted users categorized into three types – patients, staff, and visitors to know their longing for the landscape. Based on this data and available literature, an evidence-based design was proposed. This conceptual design model is then shown to the targeted user and the response is recorded. The data has then collaborated with similar studies done earlier and design elements are highlighted which helps in creating a restorative environment by reducing stress and increasing recovery rate and thus approaching sustainable development.
Objective: Less attention has been given to how green space can impact college students’ moods. This study aimed to examine whether university students exposed to outdoor and indoor green space-natural and artificial would experience a change in moods compared to students not exposed to green space. Method: Seventy-nine participants were randomly assigned to four different conditions: office without greenery, office with posters of nature, office with green plants, and outside in a garden. The Brunel Mood Scale was used to assess participants’ moods before and after spending time in their assigned setting. Results: Results indicated that all participants experienced a decline in tension and fatigue regardless of their assigned setting, yet the decline was less pronounced among participants in the office without greenery. Conclusion: Study findings highlight indoor green space is also conducive to positive moods. Thus, in addition to protecting outside greenery, universities may invest in indoor greenery (e.g., indoor plants, posters/artwork featuring nature) that can be placed in classrooms, libraries, dormitories, and other spaces frequented by students.
The development of empirical research concerning the perception and evaluation of landscape quality has been hampered by the difficulties of presenting adequate samples of landscape views to large samples of respondents. Consequently, there has been extensive use of photographic displays as a substitute for on-site environmental survey. There is, however, relatively little evidence for the validity of such surrogates. The paper reviews the results of previous studies and reports a case study which provides further evidence for the validity and effectiveness of photographs in representing landscapes.