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This is an illustrative review on studies revealing the restorative, that is, stress-reducing, effects of natural settings. We focus on the effects of viewing or being physically active in the natural setting and the effects of indoor plants and window views on restoration and recovery. These themes represent interesting and potentially fruitful areas for future studies that combine work and environmental psychological aspects. There is conceptual similarity between recovery experiences and processes of perceived restorativeness. Increasing evidence shows that outdoor natural environments are more efficient in producing restoration than outdoor built environments. Anecdotal evidence shows that window views to natural elements buffer the negative impact of job stress on intention to quit; the more natural elements, the less the negative impact of job stress on turnover intentions. A laboratory study recording brainwaves and blood volume pulse has indicated that people are less nervous or anxious when looki...

This paper consists of two studies. The first study investigates how different scene contents (urban, combined/mixed and natural) affect perceived restorativeness, preference and fear in nightscapes. The second study investigates how changes in the focus of the light affect these same variables. Simulated views were rated by participants, using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) and measurements of fear and preference. The results of the first study indicate that night-time perceived restorativeness is consistent with that in daytime environments. Natural scenes were perceived as having higher restorative quality. They were also perceived as being less frightening than urban ones and were preferred to them. Combined scenes were assessed similarly to natural ones. The second study indicated that changing the focus of the light in nightscapes can have the same type of effects on perceived restorativeness, fear and preference as changing the actual content of the scene.

The study compared the importance of spending time in interacting with nature to other leisure activities regarding recovery from work demands. In addition, a multiple mediation model between time spent in interacting with nature and need for recovery through four mediators was tested. Employees of five organizations answered a questionnaire (N = 527). Exercise and being outdoors during free-time was evaluated as the most effective activity for recovery from work stress, and the time spent in interacting with nature was mentioned as second in importance. Time spent in exercise and being outdoors, life satisfaction, and relaxation mediated significantly the relationship between time spent in interacting with nature and need for recovery from work.

Restorative environments help renew psychological resources depleted in environments that do not fully support intended functions. The design of restorative environments can be aided and underlying theory elaborated with a means for measuring psychological factors thought to work in restorative experiences. This paper reports on four studies carried out to develop such a measure, the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS). Each study employed several strategies for assessing reliability and validity. Factor analysis was used to examine the stability of the measure's factor structure across different sites and studies. To assess criterion, convergent, and discriminant validities, measures of emotional states and other environmental qualities were also completed for each site. The sites selected for evaluation differed on theoretically relevant dimensions (natural‐urban; outdoor‐indoor), enabling checks on the PRS's sensitivity to meaningful differences among environments. The results were consistent across ...