Relationship between perceived sensory dimensions and stress restoration in care settings

Through research, particular kinds of natural environments are recognized aiming at the restoration and improvement of mental health. However, there is little known about the association between the characteristics of natural restorative environments introduced as perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) and stress recovery achieved by restorative experience of the environment. To bridge this gap, a visual assessment was developed and distributed as part of a survey to students of Golestan University in Gorgan, Iran, as a result of which a total number of 124 completed responses were collected and analyzed. Measures included components of PSDs (i.e. Nature, Culture, Prospect, Social, Space, Rich in species, Refuge, and Serene), and Short Revised Restoration Scale (SRRS, which covers four dimensions as stress responses: emotion, physiology, cognition, and behavior). Asked to complete a questionnaire, participants were required to evaluate the restorative potential of eight PSDs, all depicted on images as a photo-questionnaire, in terms of stress restoration. The results confirm that PSDs are comprised of eight components. Moreover, Serene, Nature, and Refuge were identified as the three most important PSDs resulting in stress restoration. Also, findings indicated the negative the impact of Rich in species and Social on restoration. Therefore, the combination of Serene, Nature, and Refuge together with the absence of Rich in species and Social create an environment offering stress restoration. These findings add to the knowledge on the properties of restorative environments through an objective description of the potentially health-promoting quality, helping to utilize them as inspiration in the design of natural restorative environments in the context of care settings.