Watching nature scenes can reduce pain, new study shows
A new neuroimaging study has revealed that viewing nature can help ease how people experience pain, by reducing the brain activity linked to pain perception.
University of Exeter
image:
The brain response shows overall brain activity involved in processing the location and intensity of pain. This response was lower when people were exposed to virtual nature scenes compared to urban or indoor scenes.
view moreCredit: Max Steininger, University of Vienna
A new neuroimaging study has revealed that viewing nature can help ease how people experience pain, by reducing the brain activity linked to pain perception.
Published in the journal Nature Communications and led by a team from the University of Vienna and University of Exeter, the research offers a promising foundation for new types of non-pharmacological pain treatments.
Using an fMRI scanner, researchers monitored the brain activity of 49 participants in Austria, as they received pain delivered through a series of small electric shocks. When they were watching videos of a natural scene compared to a city or an indoor office, participants not only reported feeling less pain, but scans showed the specific brain responses associated with processing pain changed too.
The study used advanced machine-learning to analyse the brain networks related to pain processing. The team discovered that the raw sensory signals the brain receives when something hurts were reduced when watching a carefully designed, high quality, virtual nature scene. The study confirmed previous findings that suggest nature can reduce subjective reports of pain, and also marks the first clear demonstration of how natural environments influence the brain, helping to buffer against unpleasant experiences.
University of Vienna PhD student Max Steininger, lead author of the study, explained: “Numerous studies have shown that people consistently report feeling less pain when exposed to nature. Yet until now, the underlying reasons for this effect were unclear. Our study is the first to provide evidence from brain scans that this isn't just a ‘placebo’ effect – driven by people’s beliefs and expectations that nature is good for them – instead, the brain is reacting less to information about where the pain is coming from and how intense it feels.
“Our findings suggest that the pain-relieving effect of nature is genuine, although the effect we found was around half that of painkillers. People in pain should certainly continue taking any medication they have been prescribed. But we hope in future alternative ways of relieving pain, such as experiencing nature, may be used to help improve pain management.”
The paper also helps shed light on a longstanding mystery of the healing potential of natural settings. Over forty years ago, a seminal study from pioneering American researcher, Roger Ulrich, showed how hospital patients used fewer painkillers and recovered faster when their windows overlooked a green space instead of a brick wall. Yet following decades of research, the mechanisms underlying this effect remained unknown.
The new findings provide the first robust explanation of why Ulrich’s patients might have experienced less pain, and demonstrate how virtual nature encounters could bring these benefits to anyone, anywhere – providing a non-invasive, accessible pathway to pain management.
Dr Alex Smalley, a coauthor from the University of Exeter concluded “This study highlights how virtual encounters can bring the healing potential of nature to people when they can’t get outside. But we hope our results also serve as renewed evidence for the importance of protecting healthy and functioning natural environments, encouraging people to spend time in nature for the benefit of both the planet and people.”
“The fact that this pain-relieving effect can be achieved through a virtual nature exposure which is easy to administer has important practical implications for non drug treatments, and opens new avenues for research to better understand how nature impacts our minds.”
The paper is titled ‘Nature exposure induces analgesic effects by acting on nociception-related neural processing’ and is published in Nature Communications.
Journal
Nature Communications
Method of Research
Imaging analysis
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Nature exposure induces analgesic effects by acting on nociception-related neural processing’
Article Publication Date
13-Mar-2025
Nature relieves physical pain: pain-related signals in the brain are reduced
This effect even occurs with virtual nature – such as nature videos
University of Vienna
In a new study, an international team of neuroscientists led by the University of Vienna has shown that experiencing nature can alleviate acute physical pain. Surprisingly, simply watching nature videos was enough to relieve pain. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers found that acute pain was rated as less intense and unpleasant when watching nature videos – along with a reduction in brain activity associated with pain. The results suggest that nature-based therapies can be used as promising complementary approaches to pain management. The study was recently published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.
"Pain processing is a complex phenomenon" explains study lead and doctoral student Max Steininger from the University of Vienna. In order to better understand it and identify treatment options, Steininger and his colleagues investigated how nature exposure influences pain: participants suffering from pain were shown three types of videos: a nature scene, an indoor scene, and an urban scene. The participants rated the pain while their brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results were clear: when viewing the nature scene, the participants not only reported less pain but also showed reduced activity in brain regions associated with pain processing.
By analyzing the brain data, the researchers showed that viewing nature reduced the raw sensory signal the brain receives when in pain. "Pain is like a puzzle, made up of different pieces that are processed differently in the brain. Some pieces of the puzzle relate to our emotional response to pain, such as how unpleasant we find it. Other pieces correspond to the physical signals underlying the painful experience, such as its location in the body and its intensity. Unlike placebos, which usually change our emotional response to pain, viewing nature changed how the brain processed early, raw sensory signals of pain. Thus, the effect appears to be less influenced by participants’ expectations, and more by changes in the underlying pain signals," explains Steininger.
Claus Lamm, head of research in the group, adds: "From another ongoing study, we know that people consistently report feeling less pain when exposed to natural environments. However, the underlying reason for this has remained unclear – until now. Our study suggests that the brain reacts less to both the physical source and the intensity of the pain."
The current study provides important information on how nature can help alleviate pain and highlights that nature-based therapeutic approaches can be a useful addition to pain treatment. The fact, that this effect was observed by simply watching nature videos suggests that taking a walk outdoors may not be necessary. Virtual nature – such as videos or virtual reality – appears to be effective as well. This opens up a wide range of possible applications in both the private and medical sectors, providing people with a simple and accessible way to relieve their pain.
The study was conducted at the University of Vienna in collaboration with researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Birmingham (UK) and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
Researchers from the fields of neuroscience and environmental psychology worked together on this research topic for the first time at the University of Vienna. Claus Lamm and Mathew White are also members of the interdisciplinary Environment and Climate Research Hub (ECH) at the University of Vienna. The ECH brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines to produce outstanding scientific knowledge that can provide solutions to pressing problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution.
Journal
Nature Communications
Article Title
Nature exposure induces analgesic effects by acting on nociception-related neural processing
Article Publication Date
13-Mar-2025
Just looking at images of nature can relieve pain, study finds
No comments:
Post a Comment