AUTHOR=Ning Wei , Yin Jiahui , Chen Qiang , Sun Xiaogang 

TITLE=Effects of brief exposure to campus environment on students' physiological and psychological health

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1051864

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1051864

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Experiences in natural environments can enhance human well-being and promote the recovery of physiological and psychological health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, university students' activity off-campus is limited, so the campus environment is particularly important for the recovery of students' physiological and psychological health. To explore the transient recovery effects of different types of campus environments, four types of campus environments, including square space, dense forest space, sparse forest space and waterfront space were selected. A total of 60 university students were recruited, measuring their systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate as physical parameters to assess stress recovery. Respondents also reported scores about their personal feelings on questionnaires to evaluate their psychological states. In this study, we found as long as the stressor is removed, any environment can bring a temporary recovery effect on physiological indicators, and there is no significant difference, but the transient recovery of psychological health is different, three landscape types had significant effects on psychological transient recovery, and the recovery effects in an increasing order as: waterfront space > sparse forest space > dense forest space. During the process of transient recovery, the sense of escaping promoted psychological recovery, but after five minutes of recovery, the attractive and compatible environment hindered recovery. Although campus environment contributes to the transient recovery of students' physiological and psychological health, the correlation is weak. In conclusion, campus spaces can indeed bring transient recovery to students' physiological and psychological health, especially waterfront space and sparse forest space.