Understanding the Influence of Window Views, Plantscapes, and Green Décor in Virtual Reality Hospital Rooms on Simulated Acute-Care Patients’ Stress Recovery and Relaxation Responses

Window views, indoor plants, and room décor can potentially improve restoration and healing in a hospital room environment. Preferences for these attributes and their individual effect on physiological and cognitive outcomes remain understudied. This study investigated the extent to which visible green nature in window views, plantscapes, and green colored decor in virtual reality hospital rooms, affected restoration outcomes of simulated acute care patients. First, 12 room environments were developed in virtual reality where window views, plants, and green-colored room decor variables relevant to Stress Recovery Theory were systematically manipulated. Next, participants in a simulated patient acute-injury scenario (N = 188), which induced an external stress process, rated the environments on how much they perceived the room contributed to their sense of feeling relaxed and ability to clear their mind of stressful thoughts. Ratings for each environment were aggregated and used in full-profile and moderated conjoint analyses. Indoor plants produced the highest utility score on physical relaxation, while nature window views had the highest utility score for mental clarity. Utility scores for indoor plants were significantly higher on physical relaxation and mental clarity for the respondents with higher scores of acute cognitive stress, induced from the external stressor process. The verdant elements (e.g., green nature views, indoor plants, and green room décor) were associated with the highest restorative utility. Buildings obstructing nature views were associated with negative utility scores on the restoration outcomes. Findings highlight the individual and combined effects of: (1) indoor plants; (2) unobstructed views from the window of green nature; and, (3) green-colored décor in hospital room design.