Author: Emily E Scott1, Sara B LoTemplio1, Amy S McDonnell1, Glen D McNay2, Kevin Greenberg3, Ty McKinney1, Bert N Uchino1, David L Strayer1
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
<sup>2</sup> Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
<sup>3</sup> Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Conference/Journal: Psychophysiology
Date published: 2020 Oct 13
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1111/psyp.13698. , Word Count: 234
Stress Recovery Theory (SRT) suggests that time spent in nature reduces stress. While many studies have examined changes in stress physiology after exposure to nature imagery, nature virtual reality, or nature walks, this study is the first to examine changes in heart rate (HR) and vagally mediated HR variability, as assessed by Respiratory Sinus Arrythmia (RSA), after a longer duration of nature exposure. Consistent with SRT, we hypothesized that immersion in nature would promote stress recovery, as indexed by an increase in RSA and a decrease in HR. We also predicted that exposure to nature would improve self-reported mood. We used a within-subjects design (N = 67) to assess changes in peripheral physiology before, during, and after a 5-day nature trip. Results demonstrated a significant decrease in RSA and a significant increase in HR during the trip compared to before or after the trip, suggesting that immersion in nature is associated with a shift toward parasympathetic withdrawal and possible sympathetic activation. These results were contrary to our hypotheses and may suggest increased attentional intake or presence of emotions associated with an increase in sympathetic activation. We also found an improvement in self-reported measures of mood during the trip compared to before or after the trip, confirming our hypotheses and replicating previous research. Implications of this study are discussed in the context of SRT.
Keywords: ECG; HRV; emotion; environmental psychology; heart rate; nature; stress.
PMID: 33048361 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13698