Exploring VR Shinrin-Yoku Stress Relief: A Comparative Study of Virtual and Multi-Sensory Extended Reality Environments

This study examines whether a virtual reality forest experience, modeled on the Japanese practice of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku), can reduce stress, and whether adding multisensory physical stimuli in an extended reality (XR) setting enhances that effect. The authors built a Unity-based virtual forest running on a Meta Quest 2, featuring dynamic animals, interactive vegetation, and a radio, paired with physical props such as a real log, potted flowers, a fan, and a scent diffuser calibrated to the virtual scene. Motivated by the economic burden of work-related stress and prior evidence that nature-based experiences are restorative, the work targets a gap in existing research, which has focused largely on visual and auditory channels while neglecting multisensory, interactive, and mobile design.

The comparison involved 12 participants split evenly between a purely VR condition and a multisensory XR condition in a between-subjects design. Both groups showed improvements in positive and negative affect as measured by the PANAS and ZIPERS scales, with post-environment scores in several measures roughly doubling relative to post-stress levels. These gains were broadly comparable to those reported in earlier work by Masters et al. (2022), suggesting that a stylized, less photorealistic but more interactive environment can be similarly restorative. Some statistical and heart rate details could not be fully verified due to data quality issues.

The findings should be treated as preliminary. With only six participants per group, the study was underpowered; the authors' power analysis indicates roughly 64 participants per group would be needed for reliable significance testing. The hypothesis therefore shows a positive trend rather than confirmed effects. The authors also identify spatial drift from inside-out tracking as a methodological limitation, since it can misalign visual and tactile feedback. The work nonetheless offers a useful proof of concept for multisensory XR nature experiences and a foundation for larger confirmatory studies.