Inducing physiological stress recovery with sounds of nature in a virtual reality forest - Results from a pilot study

•Stress reactions were induced with virtual reality TSST.•Virtual reality nature facilitated the recovery from stress.•Nature sounds combined with virtual nature activated the parasympathetic system.•Experimental studies on human-nature interactions may use virtual techniques.

Experimental research on stress recovery in natural environments is limited, as is study of the effect of sounds of nature. After inducing stress by means of a virtual stress test, we explored physiological recovery in two different virtual natural environments (with and without exposure to sounds of nature) and in one control condition. Cardiovascular data and saliva cortisol were collected. Repeated ANOVA measurements indicated parasympathetic activation in the group subjected to sounds of nature in a virtual natural environment, suggesting enhanced stress recovery may occur in such surroundings. The group that recovered in virtual nature without sound and the control group displayed no particular autonomic activation or deactivation. The results demonstrate a potential mechanistic link between nature, the sounds of nature, and stress recovery, and suggest the potential importance of virtual reality as a tool in this research field.