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Volume 16
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Review

Psycho-Physiological Stress Recovery in Outdoor Nature-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of the Past Eight Years of Research

by
Sus Sola Corazon
*,
Ulrik Sidenius
,
Dorthe Varning Poulsen
,
Marie Christoffersen Gramkow
and
Ulrika Karlsson Stigsdotter
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(10), 1711; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101711
Submission received: 31 March 2019 / Revised: 2 May 2019 / Accepted: 11 May 2019 / Published: 16 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Therapies and Human Health)
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Abstract

Background: In modern, urban daily life, natural environments are increasingly recognized as an important resource for stress recovery and general well-being. Aim: the present review aims to provide an overview and synthesis of the past eight years’ research into the psycho-physiological effects of outdoor nature-based interventions, related to stress recovery. Method: a structured search was performed in seven databases, returning 5618 articles. Removal of duplicates and initial screening gave a total of 95 studies. After full text reading, 36 studies were included in the assessment. Results: most of the psychological outcomes were related to different emotional measures. The synthesis of the results points towards outdoor, nature-based exposure having a positive effect on different emotional parameters, related to stress relief. The studies into physiological measures showed more equivocal results. Conclusion: the research, conducted over the past eight years, into outdoor, nature-based exposure has now attained a sound evidence base for psychological and especially emotional effects, but the evidence base for physiological effects within this timeframe shows a great degree of heterogeneity. Limitations: interpretation of the results is limited by the review only covering the past eight years’ research on the subject.
Keywords: health-promoting environments; natural environments; mood; self-estimated stress; heart rate variability; cortisol; narrative synthesis; EPHPP quality assessment health-promoting environments; natural environments; mood; self-estimated stress; heart rate variability; cortisol; narrative synthesis; EPHPP quality assessment

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MDPI and ACS Style

Corazon, S.S.; Sidenius, U.; Poulsen, D.V.; Gramkow, M.C.; Stigsdotter, U.K. Psycho-Physiological Stress Recovery in Outdoor Nature-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of the Past Eight Years of Research. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 1711. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101711

AMA Style

Corazon SS, Sidenius U, Poulsen DV, Gramkow MC, Stigsdotter UK. Psycho-Physiological Stress Recovery in Outdoor Nature-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of the Past Eight Years of Research. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(10):1711. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101711

Chicago/Turabian Style

Corazon, Sus Sola, Ulrik Sidenius, Dorthe Varning Poulsen, Marie Christoffersen Gramkow, and Ulrika Karlsson Stigsdotter. 2019. "Psycho-Physiological Stress Recovery in Outdoor Nature-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of the Past Eight Years of Research" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 10: 1711. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101711

APA Style

Corazon, S. S., Sidenius, U., Poulsen, D. V., Gramkow, M. C., & Stigsdotter, U. K. (2019). Psycho-Physiological Stress Recovery in Outdoor Nature-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of the Past Eight Years of Research. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(10), 1711. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101711

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