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Comparative Effects of Meditation, Nature Exposure, and Digital Activities on Physiological and Perceived Stress

NCT07673653 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 100

Last updated 2026-08-12

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The present study aims to compare the effects of meditation, nature exposure, digital scrolling, and reading on physiological and perceived stress. Participants will undergo a baseline assessment including the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), a visual analogue scale (VAS) for anxiety, and salivary cortisol collection at 8:30 a.m, prior to cortisol peak. Participants will then engage in one of four activities: guided meditation, a walk in a forest environment, digital scrolling on a smartphone, or reading a neutral text. Following the activity, salivary cortisol will be collected again and anxiety will be reassessed using the VAS. The study will evaluate changes in cortisol levels, perceived stress and perceived anxiety across the four conditions and explore the potential moderating role of baseline mindfulness traits.

The central research question of this study is whether different experiential conditions elicit distinct psychophysiological responses, as reflected by changes in perceived stressm salivary cortisol and perceived anxiety and therefore this investigation could improve the understanding of how different experiential contexts influence short-term stress regulation.

Conditions

  • Psychophysical Well-being

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mindfulness-based intervention

The intervention consists of 1 in person session of mindfulness of 20 minutes.

BEHAVIORAL

Forest bathing

Participants engaged in guided forest immersion including mindful walking, sensory awareness, meditation, and nature-based contemplative activities.The intervention consists of 1 in person session of 20 minutes.

BEHAVIORAL

Scrolling

Strolling consisted of a slow, relaxed walk in a natural environment without specific mindfulness or sensory-awareness instructions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Padova

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Pavia

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Max Age
80 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-11-05
Primary Completion
2026-06-30
Completion
2026-07-30

Countries

  • Italy

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07673653 on ClinicalTrials.gov