Nature-related mood effects: Season and type of nature contact

Brooks, Aeliesha M.; Ottley, Katherine M.; Arbuthnott, Katherine D.; Sevigny, Phillip R.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.10.004

Cited by 106 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…A comprehensive body of literature shows that forests contribute to human health and well-being [1,3,10,11]. Forest visits provide restoration, decrease stress [12,13] and blood pressure [14], and improve reflection [15], mood [16][17][18][19][20], cognitive capacity [20], and vitality [21,22]. Restorative places in a forest increase connectedness with nature and the forest and mindfulness [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the Qualities of a Recreational Forest: Findings from the Cross-Sectional Hallerwald Case Study

Cervinka

Schwab

Haluza

2020

IJERPH

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Prior research shows that forests contribute to human health and well-being. In this sense, this cross-sectional case study, adopting the principles of citizen science, assessed the restorative potential of places in the Hallerwald, an Austrian community forest. A convenience sample of adult forest visitors (n = 99, 64% females) completed a survey during a guided 2.5 h forest tour. The German questionnaire assessed the qualities of defined places in the forest. We also investigated changes in mood states, perceived stress, restoration, connectedness, and mindfulness before and after visiting the forest. In cooperation with a local working group, we developed the new Widen One’s Mind (WOM) scale, which showed good scale characteristics. All places received high scores in their potential to increase restoration and vitality and to widen one’s mind. Positive affect, restoration, connectedness with nature and the forest, and mindfulness increased pre- versus post-visits, whereas negative affect and perceived stress decreased. The findings of this study suggest that in recreational forests, visitors experience beneficial mental effects such as stress reduction in addition to physical exercise. To facilitate regional development goals, we recommend evaluating places in forests regarding the potential effects on the health and well-being as well as citizen participation before initiating extensive remodeling.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the Qualities of a Recreational Forest: Findings from the Cross-Sectional Hallerwald Case Study

Cervinka

Schwab

Haluza

2020

IJERPH

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“…There are multiple reasons why positive affect could show little change after a simulated nature experience. Participants might become bored or disconnected while viewing pictures or videos of environments, and boredom and disconnection are incompatible with positive affect (Kjellgren and Buhrkall, 2010;Brooks et al, 2017). Also, stress reduction theory explains that natural landscapes promote wellbeing in part because of human's unconscious identification with these landscapes for their evolutionary needs (Ulrich, 1983).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Temperatures within this relatively narrow range are comfortable for most people and have little effect on between-subject analyses of electrodermal activity or affective valence (Keller et al, 2005;Doberenz et al, 2011;Van de Vliert, 2016). Consistency between the indoor and outdoor activities controlled for potential differences in mood effects based on season (Brooks et al, 2017), prevented participants from becoming distracted by colder temperatures (Bielinis et al, 2018), and limited the confounding effects of the nervous system's response to wider temperature variations (Gladwell et al, 2012). Temperature restrictions outdoors required randomly assigning fewer participants to that condition (see Supplementary Table S1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Simulated Nature Support Mental Health? Comparing Short, Single-Doses of 360-Degree Nature Videos in Virtual Reality With the Outdoors

et al. 2020

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Nature exposure in virtual reality (VR) can provide emotional well-being benefits for people who cannot access the outdoors. Little is known about how these simulated experiences compare with real outdoor experiences. We conduct an experiment with healthy undergraduate students that tests the effects of 6 min of outdoor nature exposure with 6 min of exposure to a 360-degree VR nature video, which is recorded at the outdoor nature exposure location. Skin conductivity, restorativeness, and mood before and after exposure are measured. We find that both types of nature exposure increase physiological arousal, benefit positive mood levels, and are restorative compared to an indoor setting without nature; however, for outdoor exposure, positive mood levels increase and for virtual nature, they stay the same. The nature-based experience shows benefits above and beyond the variance explained by participants' preferences, nature and VR experiences, and demographic characteristics. Settings where people have limited access to nature might consider using VR nature experiences to promote mental health.

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“…Although the creation of symbolic representations of nature is ancient, the opportunities provided by technologies we have to reach people through the mass media are relatively new (Kellert 2002). Researchers have found that seeing pictures of nature may not be as effective as contact with actual nature, but they can have similar benefits and help the public to visualise abstract scientific concepts like biodiversity (SeppÄ Nen and VÄ Liverronen 2003;Brooks et al 2017). However, we need to think carefully about the types of images we use and the messages we are sending.…”

Section: And the Society For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A scoping review into the impact of animal imagery on pro-environmental outcomes

Thomas‐Walters

McNulty²,

Veríssimo

2019

Ambio

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With the recognition that most global environmental problems are a result of human actions, there is an increasing interest in approaches which have the potential to influence human behaviour. Images have a powerful role in shaping persuasive messages, yet research on the impacts of visual representations of nature is a neglected area in biodiversity conservation. We systematically screened existing studies on the use of animal imagery in conservation, identifying 37 articles. Although there is clear evidence that images of animals can have positive effects on people's attitudes to animals, overall there is currently a dearth of accessible and comparable published data demonstrating the efficacy of animal imagery. Most existing studies are place and context-specific, limiting the generalisable conclusions that can be drawn. Transdisciplinary research is needed to develop a robust understanding of the contextual and cultural factors that affect how animal images can be used effectively for conservation purposes.

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Nature-related mood effects: Season and type of nature contact

Cited by 106 publications

References 54 publications

Investigating the Qualities of a Recreational Forest: Findings from the Cross-Sectional Hallerwald Case Study

Investigating the Qualities of a Recreational Forest: Findings from the Cross-Sectional Hallerwald Case Study

Can Simulated Nature Support Mental Health? Comparing Short, Single-Doses of 360-Degree Nature Videos in Virtual Reality With the Outdoors

A scoping review into the impact of animal imagery on pro-environmental outcomes

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