When stressed, it’s important to find healthy ways to cope. Getting outdoors is a proven way to do so. But not everyone has easy access to nature. That’s where nature videos might help, according to a North Carolina State University professor.

“Research shows that exposure to nature is beneficial, even if that exposure only occurs through a screen. Not everyone has access to natural views from their office, work, bedroom or home, but there are plenty of online videos of natural spaces that can set one at ease,” said Aaron Hipp, a professor of community health and sustainability in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. 

Hipp, who also serves as director of NC State’s Nature and Health Collaborative, co-authored a study examining the stress-reducing effects of nature-based imagery, specifically videos of forests and streams.

The study found that watching nature videos, including those readily available on YouTube, can help people recover from stress more effectively than watching videos of urban environments, adding to growing evidence that nature-based imagery can positively influence mood.

Hipp and collaborators conducted the international, multi-site study to replicate similar findings from a 1991 study led by environmental psychologist Roger Ulrich and researchers at Texas A&M University and the University of Delaware. 

In their study, Ulrich and his collaborators demonstrated that viewing nature videos significantly promotes stress recovery, as evidenced by positive changes in mood and anxiety levels and physiological effects such as lower heart rate, muscle tension and blood pressure. 

The study remains widely cited by researchers and has paved the way for the global adoption of nature-based imagery in hospitals, schools, offices and other built environments to promote relaxation and reduce stress.

However, because it has been 35 years since the original study was published, Hipp said it was important to replicate and validate its findings using contemporary research methods, given the continued widespread use of nature-based imagery in research and practice, the emergence of new forms of video media and broader changes in society and technology.

Exploring Nature Videos as a Stress-Relief Tool

Hipp and researchers at laboratories across Europe and the United States recruited nearly 1,000 volunteers to watch a stress-inducing video followed by videos of natural and urban environments, allowing the team to compare their emotional and physiological responses.

The researchers had participants begin by watching a 10-minute compilation video of workplace accidents in industrial settings, including incidents involving slips and falls and workers being struck by heavy objects, to raise their stress levels. 

Next, the researchers randomly assigned participants to watch one of six 10-minute environmental videos: two showing natural settings — a forest and a stream — and four showing urban environments, including pedestrian areas and traffic scenes.

Throughout the study, Hipp and researchers tracked how participants’ emotional states changed using a questionnaire administered before the stress-inducing video, after the stress video and after the environmental video. The questionnaire measured feelings such as fear, anger, positive emotions, sadness and attentiveness. 

Hipp and researchers also used sensors to record participants’ bodily responses such as heart activity and sweating and then compared these measures with the questionnaire results to assess which environments best supported stress recovery.

“Even without being physically present in nature, people experienced small but consistent improvements.”

The stressful video reliably triggered both psychological and physiological stress responses. Participants reported feeling more fear, anger and sadness, along with lower positive mood and reduced attentiveness. They also experienced more sweating, changes in heart activity and lower heart rate variability, confirming that they were experiencing stress.

After viewing the environmental videos, participants felt more positive emotion and less anger compared with those who viewed urban environments. Physiological stress responses generally improved over time for all participants no matter which environment they viewed, meaning their bodies started to calm down after the stressful video.

“Our findings reinforce earlier research showing that viewing videos of natural environments can help people recover from acute stress, both physically and mentally,” Hipp said. “Even without being physically present in nature, people experienced small but consistent improvements.” 

Hipp noted that unlike the original study, the nature videos did not lead to faster physiological stress recovery. In other words, people felt calmer after watching nature scenes, but their physical stress responses did not improve more quickly. This suggests that nature’s stress-relieving effects may be stronger mentally, not physically, at least in the short term.

Even so, some physical measures did show differences depending on the type of nature video. Participants who watched the forest scene seemed to calm down and relax faster than those who watched urban scenes, while those who watched the stream scene showed little to no difference — which may have been due to the loud, distracting sound of the water.

Highlighting Real-World Applications for Virtual Nature

Overall, Hipp said the study’s findings suggest that even brief exposure to natural environments on a screen can help people recover from stress, offering a simple and accessible way to support mental well-being when getting outdoors isn’t possible.

Research shows that parks and green spaces provide both physical and mental health benefits, ranging from improved cardiovascular health to reduced stress. But not everyone has equal access to them, leaving many communities without nearby safe places to enjoy nature.

According to The Trust for Public Land, more than 100 million people — including 28 million kids — don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. This gap in access limits opportunities for daily physical activity, relaxation and connection to nature, especially in urban communities.

Hipp said nature videos can help bridge this gap, offering a practical way to deliver similar calming and restorative effects by bringing natural scenes into everyday environments when time outdoors or nearby green space isn’t an option.

Nature videos are widely accessible and easy to integrate into daily life. They can be streamed on platforms like YouTube or TikTok, played on televisions or computer screens or even displayed in waiting rooms, offices and classrooms.

One example comes from Hipp himself, who uses them in his course PRT 261: Nature, Health and Wellness. At the end of each class, he shows a two-minute nature video to help students recover from the attentional demands of a 90-minute lecture.

“For health care, schools and universities, incorporating videos — or even virtual reality — into rooms can provide moments of respite,” Hipp said. “That could be during dental care, during testing or following an exam.”

This post was originally published in College of Natural Resources News.