Forest Bathing Versus Virtual Simulation Effects on Stress and Wellbeing

Forty-nine highly sensitive persons participated in a randomized cross-over trial comparing 40-minute exposures to an authentic forest and a 360° virtual forest simulation. Quantitative outcomes include the Change in Subjective Self-Perception (CSP-14), state anxiety (STAI-S), heart rate, and Basel Well-Being Subscales, complemented by qualitative interview analysis. Author Joel Kühn published this clinical trial dataset in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Compare CSP-14 and STAI-S scores between real forest and virtual simulation conditions to quantify differential effects on wellbeing and anxiety.
• Analyze heart rate change data (-7.94 vs. -3.47 bpm) to assess physiological stress reduction across intervention types.
• Examine qualitative interview transcripts for themes on relaxation, stress reduction, and emotional security in authentic versus simulated environments.
• Model the impact of intervention type on Basel Well-Being Subscales (vitality, intrapsychic balance, vigilance) using reported Cohen's d effect sizes.
• Investigate participant feedback on technical limitations like visual blurring and repetitive loops to inform virtual environment design improvements.

Strengths

• Dataset includes 49 participants in a randomized cross-over design, providing within-subject comparisons.
• Contains both quantitative metrics (CSP-14, STAI-S, heart rate, Basel scales) and qualitative interview data.
• Clinical trial is registered (DRKS00025421), providing a structured protocol and outcome specification.

Limitations

• Small sample size of 49 participants limits statistical power and generalizability of findings.
• Population is restricted to highly sensitive persons (HSP), which may not represent the general population.
• Primary data is embedded in a DOCX document, requiring manual extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Joel Kühn.

Collection Method

Randomized cross-over trial with quantitative surveys, physiological measurement, and qualitative interviews.

Time Range

Trial period not specified, but dataset reflects a single study.

Freshness

Last updated in April 2026, indicating recent availability.

Geography

Location of the authentic forest environment is not specified.