As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic pervade, many individuals are losing touch with nature. While the humble television will typically suffice as a window to the outside world, hardly is it as stimulating as direct access to a natural environment.
Mobile individuals can reconnect with nature via a trip to the park, drive across the countryside, or afternoon in the garden. However, care home residents, and hospital in-patients have less room for exploration. With limited mobility, hospital-bound patients suffer from higher levels of loneliness, agitation, and depression.
However, with lesser access to comprehensive psychological treatments, healthcare providers are looking into alternative ways to improve patient well-being. Now, expert psychologists investigate the effectiveness of interacting with nature through virtual reality (VR) systems to create positive feelings and connectedness.
A Passive Vs. Immersive Experience
As watching nature alone improves overall mood and works to combat boredom, psychologists believe that a more immersive nature experience can enhance “presence.” Yet, as people face limited access to the outdoors, research demonstrates that nature programs are just as effective in improving temperament.
However, nature VR sessions prove to foster pro-environmental behaviors in test groups, igniting a need to protect and preserve the real world’s environment.
Research by the Journal of Environmental Psychology
Exeter psychologists conducted the new study by inducing boredom within 96 care home participants through a 4-minute video. In the film, a corporate employee monotonously describes his day at an office supply company. The scene also illustrated a client conversation, lunch hour, and discussing the price of stationery.
Then, researchers assigned participants to one of three conditions:
- Watching colorful fish and turtles in their natural coral habitat on high-definition television
- Watching the same scene through a VR headset with a 360-degree view from a fixed point
- Watching a similar computer-generated scene through a VR headset and with the ability to interact with fish and coral via a handheld controller
The footage displayed was from the BBC television documentary series Blue Planet II, with technical teams matching visual and auditory content closely across all three scenarios.
Researchers asked participants to answer a survey before and after the experience regarding their feelings of nature connectedness, current mood, and boredom level. Following the study, researchers asked participants to describe their “presentness.”
Overall, each experience significantly reduced boredom and negative mood, boosting optimistic impressions and feelings of nature connectedness. However, results demonstrated no considerable added benefits from either VR experience compared to watching the same scene on television.
Still, the interactive VR test group expressed a more meaningful sense of presence, proving the psychological advantages of experiencing nature first-hand.
Conclusion
As the pandemic continues to contribute to deteriorating mental health and a lack of stimulation, healthcare providers are scrambling for methods of keeping their patients happy and healthy. Though VR is no one-off cure, it can make a practical addition to a more comprehensive care plan.
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