Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31783531›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2019

Physiological Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Systematic Review of Indoor Experiments.

Hyunju Jo, Chorong Song, Yoshifumi Miyazaki

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

71 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Physiological Responses to Virtual Reality-Based Stress Regulation and Relaxation Interventions: A Systematic Review.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026
    Pooled it
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  5. Trial
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  9. Green Exercise: Can Nature Video Benefit Isometric Exercise?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Trial
  10. The Mood-Improving Effect of Viewing Images of Nature and Its Neural Substrate.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Trial
  11. Article
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  13. Observational
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11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hyunju JoCenter for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan.
Chorong SongCenter for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-1924-1053
Yoshifumi MiyazakiCenter for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3170-6810

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Contact with nature has been proposed as a solution to achieve physiological relaxation and stress recovery, and a number of scientific verification outcomes have been shown. Compared with studies of the other senses, studies investigating the visual effects of nature have been at the forefront of this research field. A variety of physiological indicators adopted for use in indoor experiments have shown the benefits of viewing nature. In this systematic review, we examined current peer-reviewed articles regarding the physiological effects of visual stimulation from elements or representations of nature in an indoor setting. The articles were analyzed for their stimulation method, physiological measures applied, groups of participants, and outcomes. Thirty-seven articles presenting evidence of the physiological effects of viewing nature were selected. The majority of the studies that used display stimuli, such as photos, 3D images, virtual reality, and videos of natural landscapes, confirmed that viewing natural scenery led to more relaxed body responses than viewing the control. Studies that used real nature stimuli reported that visual contact with flowers, green plants, and wooden materials had positive effects on cerebral and autonomic nervous activities compared with the control. Accumulation of scientific evidence of the physiological relaxation associated with viewing elements of nature would be useful for preventive medicine, specifically nature therapy.

Indexed as

Blood PressureFlowersHeart RateHumansPhotic StimulationRelaxationRelaxation TherapySensationautonomic nervous activityblood pressurecerebral activityheart rate variabilitynatural environmentsnature therapyphysiological relaxationpreventive medicinestress recoveryvisual effect of nature

Identifiers

PMID31783531
PMCPMC6926748

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.