NCT06778356

Effect of Environment on the Central and Peripheral Nervous System

• Status: Enrolling By Invitation
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 95 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of South Florida · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The main goal of this study is to understand how different environments influence both mental responses, like overthinking (rumination), and physical reactions, such as heart rate and blood pressure, after a challenging task.

Detailed description

This study aims to explore the restorative effects of nature exposure on rumination- a mental process that affects attention-and cardiovascular responses to a challenging task. A total of 95 participants will be randomly assigned to either a built or natural environment. Each participant will take part in a 2.5-hour session. Initially, an electrocardiogram (ECG) will be attached to measure heart activity. Participants will then engage in a 30-minute task designed to immerse them in their assigned environment (the ABC engagement task). Following this, they will have a 10-minute period of quiet relaxation to establish baseline cardiovascular measures. After baseline, participants will complete a challenging task (the Remote Associates Test (RAT)), which is designed to induce sympathetic arousal. Afterward, they will rest quietly for another 10 minutes to monitor cardiovascular recovery. Finally, participants will complete post-task surveys through Qualtrics, assessing their state of rumination, perceived difficulty of the task, effort levels, and expectations of success.

Conditions

• Rumination

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Built environment	Participants will complete the study session at a University student center.
OTHER	Natural environment	Participants will complete the study session in a nature trail.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-02-14
• Primary completion: 2026-05-20
• Completion: 2026-05-20
• First posted: 2025-01-16
• Last updated: 2025-03-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States