Effects of forest and simulated nature meditation on university students’ well-being

Abstract

The rise in urbanization has increasingly restricted access to natural environments, posing substantial risks to the physical and mental health of urban populations, including university students and other high-stress groups. This study examines the comparative effects of outdoor forest meditation (OFM) and indoor nature meditation (INM) in simulated nature environments (SNEs) on the physiological and psychological health of university students. A pretest–posttest repeated measures design was employed, with 40 students participating in three replicated OFM sessions and three identical INM sessions across varied SNE settings. Key physiological metrics, including heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and salivary amylase concentration (SAC), were measured before and after each session. Psychological well-being was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) and Profile of Mood States (POMS). Results revealed significant reductions (p < 0.05) in most post-intervention outcomes, except in the second indoor session across physiological and psychological responses, while multi-sensory INM sessions produced comparable benefits. Notably, SNEs with enhanced sensory components were effective, though slightly less impactful than OFM. These findings suggest that both OFM in nature and INM in SNEs can benefit university students’ well-being. INM in SNEs offers a promising alternative for those with limited access to natural settings, contributing meaningfully to stress reduction and overall well-being. This study highlights the potential for nature-based strategies for human health in urban centres, advocating for further investigation into the long-term impacts of SNEs and optimal sensory configurations for maximizing therapeutic effects in urban populations.

The online version is available at https://link.springer.com/.

The online version is available at https://link.springer.com/.

Corresponding editor: Lei Yu.

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Keywords

Nature exposure / Meditation / Simulated nature / Physiological health / Mental health / Stress reduction / Human well-being

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