Nature connection and schooling… Biophilic Design and improved cognitive performance!

You and colleagues report, after a virtual reality-based study, that “the addition of biophilic elements in the Metaverse could benefit [young adult] students’ health due to significantly decreased perceived stress levels and increased connections with nature. . . . Intervention 1 is Indoor Green where the classroom is decorated with green plants and natural materials. Intervention 2, named Outdoor Green incorporates outdoor natural view and daylight into indoor space through windows. In Intervention 3, Turbid Outdoor Green the outdoor natural view in Intervention 2: Outdoor Green is blocked with visual turbidity, which is intended to simulate air pollution. The biophilic elements in Indoor Green and Outdoor Green are combined in Intervention 4 –Combination. . . . In general, participants subjectively felt significantly less stress and more connection with nature in all the interventions.”
Jicheng You, Xinyl Wen, Linxin Liu, Jie Yin, and John Ji. 2023. “Biophilic Classroom Environments on Stress and Cognitive Performance: A Randomised Crossover Study in Virtual Reality (VR).” PLoS ONE, vol. 18, no. 11, e0291355, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291355