The impact of blue, green, and urban spaces on acute stress levels in an adult population : a psychophysiological perspective

Abstract

Stress is an ever-increasing feature of daily life. Particularly, repeated exposures to acute stress can result in multiple poor psychophysiological outcomes. These multiple poor outcomes can be operationalised as chronic stress. If the impact of acute stress can be managed, the longer-term impacts of chronic stress can be mitigated. Research has shown that exposure to green and blue spaces are beneficial. However, the existing literature on specifically the psychophysiological stress relieving effects of blue, green, and urban spaces is scarce. This study therefore aimed to assess the extent to which urban, green, and blue spaces impact acute stress, measured psychophysiologically. Furthermore, an integrated psychophysiological model was integrated with evolutionary psychology, the biophilia hypothesis, and stress reduction theory, to form a theoretical point of departure. A four-group, pre-test – post-test control group experimental design was employed, in which 118 participants were exposed to either a blue, green, or urban space video, following exposure to an acute stressor. The control group sat for the same length of time as the treatment groups’ videos. Psychological measurement instruments included the Perceived Stress Scale, Nature Relatedness Scale, Restoration Scale, and four self-developed follow up items. Physiological data that were captured included blood pressure, heart rate, cardio stress index, and electrodermal activity. Overall, the results of two-way mixed ANOVAs, multiple regression, and a single-sample t-test demonstrated that urban areas have the poorest impact on acute stress when compared to green and blue areas. Green and blue spaces did not differ significantly from each other in their ability to impact acute stress, but blue spaces were found to be perceived the most restorative. The implication of these results is that exposure to green and blue spaces promote acute stress recovery and should be considered a viable treatment option for acute stress relief.