Restorative potential of different noise-exposed natural and urban environments

INTERVENTION: Intervention study, employing a pretest‐posttest design, to compare the effects of 30‐minute walks in natural or urban environments with different road traffic noise levels and with or without a mindfulness intervention. Individuals will be asked to go for a guided group walk with a maximum of si Xparticipants. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: urban environment with high traffic noise, urban environment with low traffic noise, forest with high traffic noise, forest with low traffic noise. A fifth condition will consist of a walk in a forest with low traffic noise, in which participants walk with a mindfulness intervention. Data will be assessed before (t1) and directly after (t2) the walk. After this, participants will be instructed to walk individually for three times during the next ten days. Ten days after participating in the field experiment, participants will receive an invitation to respond to a third questionnaire (t3). The study employs a between‐subject design and participants will be randomly allocated to one of the study conditions by the random generator of the online survey tool SoSci Survey. CONDITION: Stress reduction, restoration and fostering of wellbeing in healthy individuals ; Mental and Behavioural Disorders PRIMARY OUTCOME: 1. Perceived restoration following the walk, measured by a slightly modified version of the restoration outcome scale (ROS) after the walk on site and 10 days afterwards; 2. Physiological stress, measured by assessing participants’ salivary cortisol as a physiological stress marker at three points: directly after participants arrive at the test site, right before the walk starts, and directly after the walk on site. INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Aged 18 years and older 2. Physically able to walk for half an hour at a moderate pace 3. Have no diagnosed hearing problems 4. Do not take cortisone for medical reasons 5. BMI <35 kg/m² SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1. Positive and negative affect is assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) questionnaire before and after the walk on site.; 2. The perceived restorative quality of the environments examined in this study is assessed by the Perceived Restorativeness Scale‐11 after the walk on site and 10 days afterwards; 3. Rumination is assessed with the German version of the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) before and after the walk on site and 10 days afterwards; 4. Nature connectedness is measured with the short‐form Nature Relatedness Scale (NR‐6) and the Love and Care for Nature Scale (LCS) before the walk on site, after the walk on site and 10 days afterwards; 5. Noise annoyance is assessed with the 11‐point ICBEN (International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise) scale after the walk on site.; 6. Participants’ individual experience of soundscape during the walk is assessed in accordance with the ISO/TS 12913‐2 (International Organization for Standardization, 2018) after the walk on site; 7. Life satisfaction is measured with the German General Life Satisfaction Short Scale (L‐1) before and after the walk on site, and 10 days afterwards; 8. Noise sensitivity is assessed with one item, asking participants how strongly they agree with the statement “I am noise sensitive”. The item is rated on a 5‐point rating scale ranging from 1 (do not agree at all) to 5 (agree very much). Noise sensitivity is assessed after the walk on site.; 9. State mindfulness is assessed with the State Mindfulness Scale before and after the walk on site; 10. Trait mindfulness is assessed with the short form of the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills before the walk on site and 10 days afterwards; 11. Skin conductance level is measured continuously throughout the walk on site via electrodermal activity sensors (Shimmer3 GSR+ sensor, Simmer sensing, Dublin, Ireland), reflecting physiological arousal.; 12. Attention is assessed with the Necker Cube Pattern Control Test before and after the walk on site with a cognitive test; 13. Noise is assessed with continuous audio recordings using a free‐field measurement microphone during the walks;