ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
The Influence of Virtual Forest Walk on Physiological and Psychological Responses.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- 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 · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of virtual reality nature effects on higher education students' mental health and wellbeing.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2025Pooled it
- The use of Virtual Reality (VR) to assess the impact of geographical environments on walking and cycling: a systematic literature review.International journal of health geographics · 2024Pooled it
- Virtual Reality (VR) Technology for Treatment of Mental Health Problems during COVID-19: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Spending time in a forest vs. a virtual forest simulation: qualitative and quantitative effects on stress perception and psychological wellbeing in a randomized cross-over trial of highly sensitive persons.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Trial
- Therapeutic effects of forest bathing on older adult patients with essential hypertension: evidence from a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Brief repeated virtual nature contact for three weeks boosts university students' nature connectedness and psychological and physiological health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A pilot study.Frontiers in public health · 2022Trial
- Are Virtual Forests Just for Relaxation, or Can They Enhance the Benefits of Therapy?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effects of different natural soundscapes on human psychophysiology in national forest park.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- XR and mental wellbeing: state of the art and future research directions for the Metaverse.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Review
- Nature in the Heart and Mind of the Beholder: Psycho-Emotional and EEG Differences in Perception of Virtual Nature Due to Gender.Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Role of Virtual Reality as a Psychological Intervention for Mental Health Disturbances during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Comparison of the Cardiovascular Effects of Extreme Psychological and Physical Stress Tests in Male Soccer Players.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Effect of Forest Video Using Virtual Reality on the Stress Reduction of University Students Focused on C University in Korea.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The authors of this paper sought to investigate the impact of virtual forest therapy based on realistic versus dreamlike environments on reducing stress levels. Today, people are facing an increase in stress levels in everyday life, which may be due to personal life, work environment, or urban area expansion. Previous studies have reported that urban environments demand more attention and mental workload than natural environments. However, evidence for the effects of natural environments as virtual forest therapy on stress levels has not yet been fully explored. In this study, a total of 20 healthy participants completed a letter-detection test to increase their stress level and were then randomly assigned to two different virtual environments representing realistic and dreamlike graphics. The participants' stress levels were assessed using two physiological methods that measured heart rate and skin conductance levels and one psychological method through the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. These indicators were analyzed using a sample
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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.