How Watching a 5-Minute Nature Video Can Help Reduce Stress

In our busy lives, finding time to relax can be hard-especially if we're stuck inside all day at school or work. But what if just five minutes of watching a nature video could help calm your mind? A recent study from the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology suggests exactly that.

Researchers in Finland wanted to know if watching a short, realistic video of a forest walk could help people feel less stressed. Thirty people participated in the study. They were first given hard mental tasks to increase stress, like solving math problems and repeating numbers backward. Then, each person watched either a five-minute nature video or a control video (a weather forecast). You can watch the nature video yourself here.

The nature video showed a peaceful walk through a forest with birdsong and rustling leaves. The scientists measured the participants' feelings and physical stress levels using both surveys and tools that tracked their skin's response through EDA and brainwaves through EEG.

EDA stands for Electrodermal Activity. It measures how the skin's electrical conductance changes in response to sweat gland activity, which is controlled by the autonomic nervous system-specifically, the sympathetic nervous system. EEG stands for Electroencephalography. It is a method used to measure electrical activity in the brain using small sensors (electrodes) placed on the scalp. EEG records brain waves, which are patterns of electrical activity that reflect different mental states. For example: Alpha waves (8-13 Hz) are linked to relaxation, Theta waves (4-8 Hz) are associated with deep relaxation and meditation, Beta waves (13-30 Hz) indicate active thinking or focus.

In research, EEG helps scientists understand how the brain responds to different stimuli-like stress, relaxation, or attention tasks. By tracking the skin's response and brainwaves, the researchers were able to reduce "nature positive bias", or the tendency of people to favor nature.

Here's what they found:

• People felt more relaxed after watching the nature video.
• Their bodies showed signs of less stress-like slower skin responses, which means the nervous system was calming down.
• Their brains showed more alpha and theta waves, patterns linked to feeling calm and focused (similar to meditation).

Importantly, people who felt more connected to nature got even more benefits from the video.

Using screens to relax may sound ironic, but with the right content-like a walk through the forest-it just might be the easiest way to bring nature's calm into our modern world.

Autonomic Nervous System - part of the nervous system that controls involuntary body functions-things your body does automatically without you thinking about them. It regulates: Heart rate, Breathing, Digestion, Pupil dilation, Sweat production

Electrodermal Activity - a method to measure how the skin's electrical conductance changes in response to sweat gland activity.

Electroencephalography - a method used to measure electrical activity in the brain using small sensors (electrodes) placed on the scalp.

Sympathetic nervous system - part of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for "fight or flight" during stress.

Koivisto, Mika, et al. "A Short Simulated Nature Experience as an Effective Way to Promote Restoration from Work-Related Stress." Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, vol. 65, no. 5, 2024, pp. 954-965. Wiley Online Library, https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.13044.

Department: Health & Social Services

Type: Blog Post

Category: Public Health