Restorative effects of virtual nature in university environment Nature video for Lamk Support

This thesis was carried out for Lamk Support, the student well-being services of Lahti University of Applied Sciences. In the thesis process, a nature video was planned and made to reduce stress and improve students’ and staff’s well-being at Lahti University of Applied Sciences.
The aim of this practice-based thesis was to make a restorative nature video for Lamk Support to help students and staff to recover from stress. The purpose was to improve students’ and staff’s well-being and to increase knowledge about the effects of virtual nature on well-being.
The video was made based on examined information on nature’s effects on well-being. The nature video was shown to a test group of university students and staff. After watching the video, we carried out a small-scale survey to the test group to collect feedback on the video and find out its restorative effects. The results of the survey were mostly positive and showed that virtual nature can help to reduce stress and improve mood.
Studies show that nature has several impacts on holistic well-being. According to recent studies, also virtual nature has positive effects on well-being, and it can be used for several purposes. Well-being at work increases productivity and commitment to the job as well as reduces incidents of sick leave. According to our client, the nature video will be used in the future to improve students’ and staff’s well-being at Lahti University of Applied Sciences.