TY - JOUR
T1 - Daily exposure to virtual nature reduces symptoms of anxiety in college students
AU - Browning, Matthew H.E.M.
AU - Shin, Seunguk
AU - Drong, Gabrielle
AU - McAnirlin, Olivia
AU - Gagnon, Ryan J.
AU - Ranganathan, Shyam
AU - Sindelar, Kailan
AU - Hoptman, David
AU - Bratman, Gregory N.
AU - Yuan, Shuai
AU - Prabhu, Vishnunarayan Girishan
AU - Heller, Wendy
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank VR@Illinois and the Campus Research Board at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for sponsoring this research. We also extend thanks for in-kind support from the following units: UIUC Department of Psychology; UIUC Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism; UIUC Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences; Clemson University Department of Communications; and Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management. Additional thanks goes to our UIUC pilot study participants, including Wendy Hsieh, Lulia Fratila, Guangzhou Chen, Milae Lee, Violet Yoon, and John Zaczorowski. Finally, special thanks go to Marianne Herr, Principal Lecturer in the Department of Communications at Clemson University, for participant recruitment.
Funding Information:
We would like to thank VR@Illinois and the Campus Research Board at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for sponsoring this research. We also extend thanks for in-kind support from the following units: UIUC Department of Psychology; UIUC Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism; UIUC Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences; Clemson University Department of Communications; and Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management. Additional thanks goes to our UIUC pilot study participants, including Wendy Hsieh, Lulia Fratila, Guangzhou Chen, Milae Lee, Violet Yoon, and John Zaczorowski. Finally, special thanks go to Marianne Herr, Principal Lecturer in the Department of Communications at Clemson University, for participant recruitment.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Exposure to natural environments offers an array of mental health benefits. Virtual reality provides simulated experiences of being in nature when outdoor access is limited. Previous studies on virtual nature have focused mainly on single "doses" of virtual nature. The effects of repeated exposure remain poorly understood. Motivated by this gap, we studied the influence of a daily virtual nature intervention on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and an underlying cause of poor mental health: rumination. Forty college students (58% non-Hispanic White, median age = 19) were recruited from two U.S. universities and randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Over several weeks, anxious arousal (panic) and anxious apprehension (worry) decreased with virtual nature exposure. Participants identifying as women, past VR users, experienced with the outdoors, and engaged with the beauty in nature benefited particularly strongly from virtual nature. Virtual nature did not help symptoms of anhedonic depression or rumination. Further research is necessary to distinguish when and for whom virtual nature interventions impact mental health outcomes.
AB - Exposure to natural environments offers an array of mental health benefits. Virtual reality provides simulated experiences of being in nature when outdoor access is limited. Previous studies on virtual nature have focused mainly on single "doses" of virtual nature. The effects of repeated exposure remain poorly understood. Motivated by this gap, we studied the influence of a daily virtual nature intervention on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and an underlying cause of poor mental health: rumination. Forty college students (58% non-Hispanic White, median age = 19) were recruited from two U.S. universities and randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Over several weeks, anxious arousal (panic) and anxious apprehension (worry) decreased with virtual nature exposure. Participants identifying as women, past VR users, experienced with the outdoors, and engaged with the beauty in nature benefited particularly strongly from virtual nature. Virtual nature did not help symptoms of anhedonic depression or rumination. Further research is necessary to distinguish when and for whom virtual nature interventions impact mental health outcomes.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-023-28070-9
DO - 10.1038/s41598-023-28070-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 36690698
AN - SCOPUS:85146774011
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 13
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 1239
ER -