Trial reportEnvironmental science & technology2013
Viewing nature scenes positively affects recovery of autonomic function following acute-mental stress.
Trial report in Environmental science & technology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04592770 (Effect of Nature-based Exercise on Post-traumatic Growth Among People With Post-traumatic Stress), which is not on this map. Cited by 99 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effect of Nature-based Exercise on Post-traumatic Growth Among People With Post-traumatic Stress: A Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial Designed to Observe Psychophysiological Alterations Before to After Intervention
Who cites it
99 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- A Meta-Analysis of Emotional Evidence for the Biophilia Hypothesis and Implications for Biophilic Design.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Regular Doses of Nature: The Efficacy of Green Exercise Interventions for Mental Wellbeing.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Physiological Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Systematic Review of Indoor Experiments.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Psychedelic Art and Implications for Mental Health: Randomized Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Trial
- Promoting stress and anxiety recovery in older adults: assessing the therapeutic influence of biophilic green walls and outdoor view.Frontiers in public health · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Effects of the Visual Character of Transitional Spaces on Human Stress Recovery in a Virtual Reality Environment.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Skin conductance responses in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) under mental arithmetic stress.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Virtual reality for management of pain in hospitalized patients: A randomized comparative effectiveness trial.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Effect of Traffic Noise and Relaxations Sounds on Pedestrian Walking Speed.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Autonomic Nervous System Responses to Viewing Green and Built Settings: Differentiating Between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Activity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2015Trial
- Brief virtual nature exposure and acute stress: inconclusive evidence regarding stress reactivity, recovery, and emotion regulation.Journal of environmental psychology · 2026Article
- Prediction, pain, and the power of context: toward a contemporary identity for the chiropractic profession.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2026Review
- The Therapeutic Home Environment for Chronic Diseases: A Transdisciplinary Ecosystem for Achieving Migraine Freedom and Managing Comorbid Anxiety, Insomnia, and Chronic Pain.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Indoor window ventilation and anxiety symptoms among older adults with disabilities in China: A cross-sectional study.Medicine · 2026Article
- How virtual urban green spaces influence stress and risk-taking.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Vegetated landscape coherence and complexity shape psychophysiological stress recovery in campus courtyards.PloS one · 2026Article
- Digital mandala coloring as a public mental health tool: psychophysiological benefits and the mediating role of flow in anxiety reduction among university students.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
39 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
A randomized crossover study explored whether viewing different scenes prior to a stressor altered autonomic function during the recovery from the stressor. The two scenes were (a) nature (composed of trees, grass, fields) or (b) built (composed of man-made, urban scenes lacking natural characteristics) environments. Autonomic function was assessed using noninvasive techniques of heart rate variability; in particular, time domain analyses evaluated parasympathetic activity, using root-mean-square of successive differences (RMSSD). During stress, secondary cardiovascular markers (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) showed significant increases from baseline which did not differ between the two viewing conditions. Parasympathetic activity, however, was significantly higher in recovery following the stressor in the viewing scenes of nature condition compared to viewing scenes depicting built environments (RMSSD; 50.0 ± 31.3 vs 34.8 ± 14.8 ms). Thus, viewing nature scenes prior to a stressor alters autonomic activity in the recovery period. The secondary aim was to examine autonomic function during viewing of the two scenes. Standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDRR), as change from baseline, during the first 5 min of viewing nature scenes was greater than during built scenes. Overall, this suggests that nature can elicit improvements in the recovery process following a stressor.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.