Natural images and hypoxia: a study on the effects of exposure to natural images in simulated high-altitude conditions.

A high mountain environment is characterized by a decrease in the ambient partial pressure of oxygen (hypoxia), representing a stressful condition capable of altering cognitive functions and emotional states (Ruffini & Cera, 2020). Previous studies have shown that exposure to nature is associated with greater well-being (Bowler, 2010) and promotes recovery from stressful events (Berto, 2014). This contribution aims to examine the psychological and physiological effects of exposure to nature in a controlled laboratory setting, and its potential role as a moderator of the negative effects of hypoxia. In a randomized within-subjects design, participants are shown images of natural or urban environments for 10 minutes while exposed to a normoxia (i.e., air oxygen pressure at sea level) or hypoxia (i.e., air oxygen pressure at 4200 m altitude) laboratory condition. Measures of emotional states are collected before (T1) and after exposure to the images (T2). At the same time, physiological indices (e.g., heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and ventilatory response) are monitored for the entire experiment duration. Preliminary results on a partial sample confirm the effect of hypoxia on emotional states, with higher levels of negative emotions and lower levels of positive emotions in the hypoxia condition. Finally, natural images appear to moderate this effect; results show a reduction in negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions in both conditions (I.e., normoxia and hypoxia). The potential implications of our findings will be discussed.