ABSTRACT

Exposure to green/blue spaces is associated with greater nature connectedness and feelings of restoration but the focus has primarily been on visual/auditory experiences. We explored the potential role of experiences of touch, through walking barefoot. Participants took part in a repeat cross-over experiment that compared walking barefoot vs. shod, in a public garden and beach environment. Barefoot walkers had higher connectedness and restoration than shoe wearers in both environments, though increased tactile experiences only mediated the relationship in the beach setting. Findings suggest that walking barefoot is a viable and low-cost activity to facilitating greater feelings of nature connectedness and psychological restoration.

摘要

接触绿色/蓝色空间与更大的自然联系和恢复感有关，但重点主要放在视觉/听觉体验上。我们通过赤脚行走探索了触摸体验的潜在作用。参与者参加了一项重复的交叉实验，该实验比较了在公共花园和海滩环境中赤脚和穿鞋行走。在这两种环境中，赤脚步行者比穿鞋者具有更高的连通性和恢复能力，尽管增加的触觉体验仅在海滩环境中调节了这种关系。研究结果表明，赤脚走路是一项可行且成本低的活动，可以促进更好的自然联系感和心理恢复。