Eur J Appl Physiol DOI 10.1007/s00421-012-2318-8 123 ORIGINAL ARTICLE The eVects of views of nature on autonomic control V. F. Gladwell · D. K. Brown · J. L. Barton · M. P. Tarvainen · P. Kuoppa · J. Pretty · J. M. Suddaby · G. R. H. Sandercock Received: 20 July 2011 / Accepted: 7 January 2012  Springer-Verlag 2012 Abstract Previously studies have shown that nature improves mood and self-esteem and reduces blood pres- sure. Walking within a natural environment has been sug- gested to alter autonomic nervous system control, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive method of assessing autonomic control and can give an insight into vagal modulation. Our hypothesis was that viewing nature alone within a con- trolled laboratory environment would induce higher levels of HRV as compared to built scenes. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were measured during viewing diVer- ent scenes in a controlled environment. HRV was used to investigate alterations in autonomic activity, speciWcally parasympathetic activity. Each participant lay in the semi- supine position in a laboratory while we recorded 5 min (n = 29) of ECG, BP and respiration as they viewed two collections of slides (one containing nature views and the other built scenes). During viewing of nature, markers of parasympathetic activity were increased in both studies. Root mean squared of successive diVerences increased 4.2 § 7.7 ms (t = 2.9, p = 0.008) and natural logarithm of high frequency increased 0.19 § 0.36 ms 2 Hz ¡1 (t = 2.9, p = 0.007) as compared to built scenes. Mean HR and BP were not signiWcantly altered. This study provides evidence that autonomic control of the heart is altered by the simple act of just viewing natural scenes with an increase in vagal activity. Keywords Environment · Nature · Cardiovascular · Autonomic control · Vagal activity Introduction Nature has wide ranging positive eVects, but the mecha- nisms of these eVects are not understood, particularly at a physiological level. Cohort study data show that viewing natural landscapes has positive beneWts including: improved general health perception (Moore 1982); reduced need for pain relief (Ulrich 1984; Diette et al. 2003; Lechtzin et al. 2010); improved concentration and attention (Berto 2005); improved cognition (Berman et al. 2008); and improved self-esteem and mood (Pretty et al. 2007; Barton et al. 2009). Meta-analyses (Barton and Pretty 2010) and systematic reviews (Bowler et al. 2010; Thompson Coon et al. 2011) demonstrate the eYcacy of exposure to nature in improving psychological well-being, but there is a paucity of studies examining physiological eVects (Bowler et al. 2010), possi- bly due to the diYculties of recording high-quality physio- logical data outdoors. In addition, to date laboratory studies of viewing natural scenes prove inconsistent (Bowler et al. 2010). When participants viewed slides of rural or built scenes there were no signiWcant diVerences in heart rate (HR) responses (Ulrich 1981). When exposed to a stressor (elevating HR and blood pressure (BP)) prior to viewing videos of diVerent environments, natural views were deemed more ‘restorative’ because they elicited more rapid Communicated by Susan A. Ward. V. F. Gladwell (&) · D. K. Brown · J. L. Barton · J. Pretty · J. M. Suddaby · G. R. H. Sandercock Department of Biological Sciences, Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK e-mail: vglad@essex.ac.uk M. P. Tarvainen · P. Kuoppa Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland