Indoor nature exposure and influence on physiological stress markers

Jill McSweeney, Shannon Johnson, Simon Sherry, Jerome Singleton, Daniel Rainham

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Spending time in nature is beneficial for stress reduction and recovery. Using the properties of biophilic design, this study examined the influence of a nature-based indoor environment on physiological stress systems. An experimental study was designed to assess the influence of indoor natural elements on autonomic activity (heart rate variability or HRV), self-reported environmental assessments. No differences in heart rate variability were found between participants assigned to either condition. The room with natural elements was rated more positively than the room without natural elements. Participant preference had more impact on changes in HRV for participants without exposure to natural elements. The results suggest that natural elements in indoor environments may influence the regulation of stress response via environmental preference. Abbreviations: ANCOVA: Analysis of Covariance; ANS: Autonomic Nervous System; AVNN: Average of NN; DST: Digit Span Test; EAS: Environmental Assessment Scale; ECG: Electrocardiograph; fMRI: Functional magnetic resonance imaging; HF: High Frequency; HRV: Heart Rate Variability; INE: Indoor Nature Exposure; NR: Nature-Relatedness Scale; PANAS: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule; SAM: Search and Memory Test; SLSI: Student Life Stress Inventory; SMT: Sentence Making Test.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)636-650
Number of pages15
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Health Research
Volume31
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was approved by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Board at Dalhousie University as Project 2014-3274.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Pollution
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Randomized Controlled Trial

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