Virtual nature experiences and mindfulness practices while working from home during COVID-19: Effects on stress, focus, and creativity

In this study, we focus on the impact of daily virtual nature experiences combined with mindfulness practices on remote workers' creativity, stress, and focus over an extended period (9 weeks) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results show a positive effect of virtual reality (VR) nature experience on increasing focus and reducing stress. When VR nature and mindfulness practices were combined, we also found an increase in convergent thinking task performance. Our findings demonstrate that 10-minute daily exposure to VR nature and mindfulness practices could compensate for some of the adverse effects of working remotely by improving some aspects of workers' well-being and creativity.

Automated summary

In this study, we examine the impact of daily virtual nature experiences combined with mindfulness practices on remote workers' creativity, stress, and focus during the COVID-19 pandemic over a period of 9 weeks. The results show that virtual reality (VR) nature experience has a positive effect on increasing focus and reducing stress. Additionally, the combination of VR nature and mindfulness practices leads to an improvement in convergent thinking task performance. Overall, our findings demonstrate the potential of 10-minute daily exposure to VR nature and mindfulness practices in enhancing the well-being and creativity of remote workers.