Clinical trial NCT05249296: The Impact of Green Spaces on the General Well-being and Stress of Students
Official title: The Impact of Green Spaces on the General Well-being and Stress of Students: an Intervention Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Stress
Neurocognition
Psychological
Cardiovascular
Keywords: Green space
Lead sponsor: Hasselt University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-02-21
Enrollment: 50
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The number of students with psychological problems is on the rise, due to a combination of increasing performance pressure, high expectations, difficulties handling stress, social pressure, and studying. Spending time in a green space has been shown to have positive effects on the mental and general health. This project aims to alleviate the symptoms of mental fatigue and stress related disorders such as burn out in students by offering a nature-based activity.

Participants are asked to take a thirty-minute walk in a nature-based area for five consecutive days, followed by a control period (regular schedule of the participant) for five days, or vice versa. The investigators test stress-related parameters including concentration tests, cognitive tests, cortisol levels, and cardiovascular measurements.

Detailed description: This project aims study the effectiveness of nature-based solutions on the prevention of stress-related symptoms due to high study pressure in students. A nature-based physical activity is recommended once a day to prevent stress build-up and positively influence the cardiovascular system. Participants are randomized into two groups: the first group of participants are asked to walk a nature-based route near the University campus for thirty minutes per day for two weeks (phase 1). After each activity-based phase, a washout period of one week is implemented to avoid carry-over of results (phase 2 and 4). In the third phase, the participants are asked to resume their daily activities for two weeks (control). The second group undergo the same phases but reversed: participants start with two weeks of their usual daily activities, followed by two weeks of nature-based activity. After each phase, the investigators measure neurocognition through neurocognitive tests, the emotional status through detailed questionnaires and assess stress levels through cardiovascular measurements, including salivary cortisol levels of saliva collected upon awakening, 30 min after waking and at 8 pm.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Student of Hasselt university or university college PXL and dutch speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Primary outcomes:
measure: General health
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: Stress levels
timeFrame: 10 minutes
measure: cortisol level (stress levels)
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: visual memory
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: selective attention
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: short-term memory
timeFrame: 10minutes
measure: visual information processing speed
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: visual information processing speed
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: Heart rate variability
timeFrame: 30 minutes
measure: Blood pressure
timeFrame: 5 minutes
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Hasselt
country: Belgium
facility: Hasselt University
state: Limburg
Study officials:
affiliation: Hasselt University
name: Michelle Plusquin
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: