Objective:

To evaluate the impact of exposure to virtual natural environments on stress, anxiety, and depression in healthy adults, addressing the uncertainty of effects.

Key Findings:

• Exposure to virtual natural environments significantly reduces anxiety levels (SMD = 0.82, p < 0.001, large effect).
• Moderate reductions in stress levels were observed (SMD = 0.577, p = 0.003, moderate effect).
• Moderate reductions in depression levels were also noted (SMD = 0.621, p < 0.001, moderate effect), highlighting the significance of these effect sizes.

Interpretation:

The findings suggest that virtual natural environments can positively impact mental health, serving as an alternative when access to real nature is limited, and indicating areas for future research.

Limitations:

• Diversity in study populations and methods may introduce ambiguity in results, and potential biases in study selection should be considered.
• Previous reviews primarily focused on clinical populations, limiting generalizability to healthy adults.

Conclusion:

Virtual nature exposure is a viable intervention for reducing anxiety, stress, and depression in healthy adults, emphasizing its importance in public health strategies.