Does virtual reality forest mindfulness restore individuals’ mood after work and the next day? A multilevel modeling experiment

This study examined the immediate recovery effects of two restorative environments and a control condition on the psychological states of knowledge workers after daily study/work sessions, the dynamic inhibition of negative emotional spillover from work to life domains on a day-to-day basis, and the cumulative recovery effects of a 7-day intervention. Using the experience sampling method (ESM), the study collected 462 daily responses and conducted multilevel modeling analyses. The results indicated that, compared to conventional mindfulness , VR forest mindfulness demonstrated a significantly stronger immediate recovery effect on participants' emotional states after work each afternoon (i.e., a greater reduction in negative affect and an increase in positive affect). The study validated the daily mood spillover effect by revealing a positive relationship between emotional states after work and before sleep, as well as a positive link between positive affect before sleep and subjective restoration the next morning. Further analysis showed that, compared with conventional mindfulness and the control group, daily VR forest mindfulness intervention significantly alleviated the aforementioned spillover effect, demonstrating its sustained day-level recovery benefits. Additionally, only subjective restoration in the morning exhibited a significant cumulative growth trend throughout the 7-day VR forest mindfulness intervention. Overall, this study expands the understanding of the psychological benefits and sustained effects of virtual forest-based mindfulness interventions. It provides practical guidance for the use of virtual nature and mindfulness techniques in daily psychological interventions across different occupational groups. • Shows that VR forest mindfulness improves immediate emotional recovery after work. • Reveals daily work-to-home emotional spillover in knowledge workers. • Confirms the sustained recovery potential of virtual nature via multilevel data.