Changes in Heart Rate Variability During Immersive Multisensory Forest Bathing Experiences

Marilia Karla Soares Lopes; Belmir Jose De Jesus Junior; Olivier Rosanne; Susanna Pardini; Lora Appel; Christopher Smith; Tiago Henrique Falk

doi:10.54941/ahfe1006347

AHFE International

Accelerating Open Access Science in Human Factors Engineering and Human-Centered Computing

Changes in Heart Rate Variability During Immersive Multisensory Forest Bathing Experiences

Open Access

Article

Conference Proceedings

Authors: Marilia Karla Soares Lopes, Belmir Jose De Jesus Junior, Olivier Rosanne, Susanna Pardini, Lora Appel, Christopher Smith, Tiago Henrique Falk

Abstract: Exposure to nature promotes relaxation and reduces stress, but accessibility concerns have led to increased investigation of virtual reality nature simulations, including “virtual forest bathing.” This study examines the effects of audiovisual (AV) and audio-visual-olfactory (AVO) immersive VR experiences on relaxation, quality of experience (QoE), and heart rate variability (HRV) among nurses in a mental health inpatient unit. Participants experienced 2.5-min sessions of 360° natural scenes with counterbalanced conditions. Both conditions (AV and AVO) showed improvements in relaxation and QoE ratings, while the AVO condition resulted in greater HRV changes towards the end of the experience, as well as greater correlations with subjective relaxation and QoE ratings.

Keywords: Virtual forest bathing, Virtual reality, Heart rate variability, Multisensory VR

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006347

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