TY - JOUR
T1 - Durations of virtual exposure to built and natural landscapes impact self-reported stress recovery
T2 - evidence from three countries
AU - Suppakittpaisarn, Pongsakorn
AU - Wu, Chia Ching
AU - Tung, Yu Hsin
AU - Yeh, Yu chen
AU - Wanitchayapaisit, Chulalux
AU - Browning, Matthew H.E.M.
AU - Chang, Chun Yen
AU - Sullivan, William C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research is partially supported by Chiang Mai University. We are grateful for the mentorship of Prof. Chamree Arayanimitsakul from the Department of Landscape Architecture, Chulanlongkorn University. In addition, we give special thanks to Seunguk Shin, PhD candidate in the College of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for 360-degree video footages from Champaign, IL. This research was funded by Thailand Research Fund and Office of the Higher Education Commission with grant number MRG6280099.
PY - 2023/1
Y1 - 2023/1
N2 - Exposure to natural landscapes can benefit human health. However, several knowledge gaps remain regarding the impacts of duration and cultural differences on the health benefits of nature. If these gaps are filled, designers and planners can better design landscapes for stress recovery. This study examined the effects of durations of virtual exposure to the built and natural environments across three countries using an experimental design. Two-hundred and seventy people from USA, Taiwan, and Thailand were induced with an acute stressor and then randomly assigned to watch 360° videos of urban or natural landscapes for 1, 5, or 15 min. Self-reported stress recovery data were collected before and after the exposure. The results suggested that gender and duration of exposure to virtual natural landscapes impacted stress recovery. Female participants recovered from stress more when exposed to the virtual natural landscapes than urban landscapes. Among those participants who were exposed to virtual natural landscapes, 5 min of exposure resulted in greater stress recovery than shorter or longer durations of exposure. Perceived familiarity did not influence the extent of stress recovery. These findings support previous research on how nature exposure is related to stress recovery and varies by dosage, leading to better understanding toward landscape design. Future studies should explore other measures of stress, different landscape designs, participants’ immersion, and levels of control in simulated nature scenes.
AB - Exposure to natural landscapes can benefit human health. However, several knowledge gaps remain regarding the impacts of duration and cultural differences on the health benefits of nature. If these gaps are filled, designers and planners can better design landscapes for stress recovery. This study examined the effects of durations of virtual exposure to the built and natural environments across three countries using an experimental design. Two-hundred and seventy people from USA, Taiwan, and Thailand were induced with an acute stressor and then randomly assigned to watch 360° videos of urban or natural landscapes for 1, 5, or 15 min. Self-reported stress recovery data were collected before and after the exposure. The results suggested that gender and duration of exposure to virtual natural landscapes impacted stress recovery. Female participants recovered from stress more when exposed to the virtual natural landscapes than urban landscapes. Among those participants who were exposed to virtual natural landscapes, 5 min of exposure resulted in greater stress recovery than shorter or longer durations of exposure. Perceived familiarity did not influence the extent of stress recovery. These findings support previous research on how nature exposure is related to stress recovery and varies by dosage, leading to better understanding toward landscape design. Future studies should explore other measures of stress, different landscape designs, participants’ immersion, and levels of control in simulated nature scenes.
KW - Environmental psychology
KW - Nature contact
KW - Stress reduction theory
KW - Virtual reality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139388032&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85139388032&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11355-022-00523-9
DO - 10.1007/s11355-022-00523-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85139388032
SN - 1860-1871
VL - 19
SP - 95
EP - 105
JO - Landscape and Ecological Engineering
JF - Landscape and Ecological Engineering
IS - 1
ER -