Sammanfattning

Experimental research on stress recovery in natural environments is limited, as is study of the effect of sounds of nature. After inducing stress by means of a virtual stress test, we explored physiological recovery in two different virtual natural environments (with and without exposure to sounds of nature) and in one control condition. Cardiovascular data and saliva cortisol were collected. Repeated ANOVA measurements indicated parasympathetic activation in the group subjected to sounds of nature in a virtual natural environment, suggesting enhanced stress recovery may occur in such surroundings. The group that recovered in virtual nature without sound and the control group displayed no particular autonomic activation or deactivation. The results demonstrate a potential mechanistic link between nature, the sounds of nature, and stress recovery, and suggest the potential importance of virtual reality as a tool in this research field. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nyckelord

TSST; Cortisol; Green environment; Soundscape; Heart rate variability

Publicerad i

Physiology and Behavior
2013, Volym: 118, sidor: 240-250
Utgivare: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

SLU författare

• Van Den Bosch, Matilda

  • Institutionen för människa och samhälle, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Grahn, Patrik

  • Institutionen för människa och samhälle, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Währborg, Peter

  • Institutionen för människa och samhälle, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi
Miljömedicin och yrkesmedicin
Psykologi (exklusive tillämpad psykologi)


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.05.023

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/50700