Evaluating the impact of horticulture interventions on stress reduction in urban workers: A comparative study of natural and simulated environments

The dominant urbanization and work environment, which have imposed stress on individuals and isolated them from nature, prompted this research into alleviating such stress through therapeutic horticulture interventions. The participant’s stress levels, engagement with nature, and socio-demographic status were documented by questionnaires and subjective feedback. The natural and simulated environments serve as interventional methods to stimulate the sensory aspects of urban dwellers through visual, aural, gustatory, tactile, and olfactory therapies. The garden configuration, virtual reality devices, fragrant oils, plant-derived beverages, and infinity walking configurations barefoot constitute the intervention measures. The horticulture interventions, both in natural and artificial environments, significantly reduced urban stress levels, yielding a mean value of 17.6±4.44, in contrast to the pre-test value of 20.8±4.14. The inclusion of nature in the self-scale score demonstrates a positive increase from 3.3±1.78 in the pre-test to 5.46±1.07 in the post-test. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was employed to determine the disparity between the two methods of horticultural therapy. The efficacy of natural and simulated methods for horticulture interventions demonstrated a significantly higher ranking for the natural approach, with a significance level of 1%. The paired t-test was employed to compare the differences between pre-test and post-test data for natural and simulated therapy. The findings indicate that despite residing in a technologically advanced society, there is a preference for the natural world over the simulated one.