The Effects of Watching a Virtual Reality (VR) Forest Video on Stress Reduction in Adults

Hong, Sungjun; Joung, Da-Wou; Lee, Jeongdo; Kim, Da‐Young; Kim, Soojin; Park, Bum-Jin

doi:10.11628/ksppe.2019.22.3.309

Cited by 23 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Representing nature in the form of images, and video or virtual reality has been found to have a positive effect on human well-being, mental and physiological health [52][53][54]. Virtual nature (VN) environments reduces stress [55] and have a positive effect on dementia symptoms [56]. A virtual natural environment is a computer-generated form of reality which is similar to nature occurring in the real world [57].…”

Section: Virtual Nature Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Viewing Video Representation of the Urban Environment and Forest Environment on Mood and Level of Procrastination

Bielinis

Simkin

Puttonen

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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A common problem among students is the problem of delaying important work activities, which is conceptualized as procrastination. Since procrastination can cause considerable costs for society, we would like to find a method to effectively alleviate the symptoms of this conditioning. It has been proven in an earlier study that staying in the forest environment increases vitality and reduces anxiety, and the negative state of these features can be associated with the intensification of procrastination symptoms. Therefore, it is likely that watching a forest video may decrease the probability or intensity of procrastination. To measure the impact of the forest environment on the level of procrastination of the subjects, a randomized experiment was carried out, in which the subjects watched in random order (on different days) one of two 15-min videos: one showing a walk in the forest area and one showing a walk in an urban environment (control). We measured the level of so-called ‘fluid procrastination’ including three aspects: ‘lack of energy to do the work’, ‘inability to get to work’ and ’pessimistic attitude to do the work’ with a set of questions the respondents completed before and after the experiment. The results showed that one aspect of fluid procrastination (‘pessimistic attitude to do the work’) can be effectively lowered by watching a video showing the forest environment. In contrast, watching a video of an urban environment increased the procrastination levels for two other aspects of procrastination (‘lack of energy to do the work’, ‘inability to get to work’). We also measured three other parameters before and after the experiment: mood state, restoration and vitality. Watching the video from forest area raised mood and restoration and watching the video from urban area, decreased mood, vitality and restoration. The study suggests that watching a video showing forest landscapes could be used as an effective remedy for problems related to procrastination among students.

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Section: Virtual Nature Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Viewing Video Representation of the Urban Environment and Forest Environment on Mood and Level of Procrastination

Bielinis

Simkin

Puttonen

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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show abstract

“…A good example is a study in which people looking at films from forest areas experienced relaxation, but this also decreased their willingness to procrastinate [ 51 ]. In other studies, looking at a virtual forest reduced stress in adults [ 52 ], and the respondents’ relationships to the virtual forest environment were varied [ 53 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The forest landscape can also be represented by virtual natural environments, i.e., by viewing images of forest landscapes on electronic devices, when real natural experiences are not accessible. Viewing virtual forest environments also has a positive influence on psychological relaxation [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Looking at the virtual forest landscape may evoke various impressions, usually positive, which has been proven in research [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. In the study by Korpela [ 19 ], it was shown that looking at photos of a forest landscape is associated with higher values of preferred pleasantness, which was correlated with perceived restorativeness ( r = 0.72–0.87).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Novel Anti-Environmental Forest Experience Scale to Predict Preferred Pleasantness Associated with Forest Environments

Bielinis

Omelan

2020

IJERPH

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In this study, a method for predicting the preferred pleasantness induced by different forest environments, represented by virtual photographs, was proposed and evaluated using a novel Anti-Environmental Forest Experience Scale psychometric test. The evaluation questionnaire contained twenty-one items divided into four different subscales. The factor structure was assessed in two separate samples collected online (sample 1: n = 254, sample 2: n = 280). The internal validity of the four subscales was confirmed using exploratory factor analysis. Discriminant validity was tested and confirmed using the Amoebic Self Scale (spatial–symbolic domain). Concurrent validity was confirmed using the Connectedness to Nature Scale. Predictive validity was based on an assessment of pleasantness induced by nine different photographs (control—urban landscapes, forest landscapes, dense forest landscapes), with subscales differently correlated with the level of pleasantness assessed for each photograph. This evaluation instrument is appropriate for predicting preferred pleasantness induced by different forest environments.

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“…This solution could be implemented in contexts such as office breaks, educational time-out periods, hospitals, travels, or at home. Lastly, this kind of approach has not been widely explored in literature yet, nonetheless, some studies have investigated the potential of VR for stress relief [ 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Our study evidences the relaxation capabilities of VR technologies by providing the participants with a set of personalized 360-degree virtual experiences that represent a portable and inexpensive approach to stress relief.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Reality Customized 360-Degree Experiences for Stress Relief

Vaquero-Blasco

Pérez-Valero

Morillas

et al. 2021

Sensors

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The latest studies in virtual reality (VR) have evidenced the potential of this technology to reproduce environments from multiple domains in an immersive way. For instance, in stress relief research, VR has been presented as a portable and inexpensive alternative to chromotherapy rooms, which require an adapted space and are expensive. In this work, we propose a portable and versatile alternative to the traditional chromotherapy color-loop treatment through four different 360-degree virtual experiences. A group of 23 healthy participants (mean age 22.65 ± 5.48) were conducted through a single-session experience divided into four phases while their electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. First, they were stressed via the Montreal imaging stress task (MIST), and then relaxed using our VR proposal. We applied the Wilcoxon test to evaluate the relaxation effect in terms of the EEG relative gamma and self-perceived stress surveys. The results that we obtained validate the effectiveness of our 360-degree proposal to significantly reduce stress (p-value = 0.0001). Furthermore, the participants deemed our proposal comfortable and immersive (score above 3.5 out of 5). These results suggest that 360-degree VR experiences can mitigate stress, reduce costs, and bring stress relief assistance closer to the general public, like in workplaces or homes.

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The Effects of Watching a Virtual Reality (VR) Forest Video on Stress Reduction in Adults

Cited by 23 publications

References 13 publications

Effect of Viewing Video Representation of the Urban Environment and Forest Environment on Mood and Level of Procrastination

Effect of Viewing Video Representation of the Urban Environment and Forest Environment on Mood and Level of Procrastination

A Novel Anti-Environmental Forest Experience Scale to Predict Preferred Pleasantness Associated with Forest Environments

Virtual Reality Customized 360-Degree Experiences for Stress Relief

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