Fostering life hope in urban green spaces through brief online mindfulness: findings from four studies with park visitors.
Mengke Luo, Weiyi Zhang
Frontiers in Psychology July 23, 2025 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1642533 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study (four experiments) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Online mindfulness intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Flow Mindfulness training Urban green spaces Life hope |
| Key findings | Argues that digitally-guided online mindfulness in an urban park setting boosts life hope more than self-guided offline practice, with the effect mediated by flow. The flow-driven pathway is reported as stronger for individuals higher in spirituality and in sense of meaning in life. |
Abstract
Contrary to the prevailing view that technology detracts from nature, this research demonstrates that digitally-guided mindfulness can act as a powerful amplifier of the psychological benefits of Urban Green Spaces (UGS). Across four interconnected experiments, we reveal how and for whom this synergy works to enhance life hope. Building on Attention Restoration, Broaden-and-Build, and Hope theories, our investigation shows that an online mindfulness intervention in a park setting significantly boosts life hope more than a self-guided offline practice (Experiment 1). This effect is mediated by the induction of flow, a state of deep absorption in the present moment (Experiment 2). Furthermore, our model reveals crucial boundary conditions: this positive, flow-driven pathway is significantly stronger for individuals experiencing higher levels of spirituality (Experiment 3) and possessing a greater sense of meaning in life (Experiment 4). Collectively, these findings offer a novel, evidence-based framework showing that personalized, digitally-delivered interventions can transform UGS into more effective therapeutic landscapes. This provides actionable insights for urban planners and digital health developers to create scalable, accessible, and highly effective nature-based solutions for promoting public mental wellbeing. Future research should address limitations by incorporating objective measures and examining long-term effects.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 13
- Mental and Physical Health Impacts of Mindfulness Training for College Undergraduates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Mindfulness September 1, 2023
- Effects of Mindfulness Training on Emotion Regulation in Patients With Depression: Reduced Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Activation Indexes Early Beneficial Changes Psychosomatic Medicine May 5, 2021
- The Effect of a Brief Mindfulness Practice on Perceived Stress and Sustained Attention: Does Priming Matter? Mindfulness June 6, 2022
- A Systematic Review on the State of the Art of Culturally Adapted Mindfulness-Based Interventions for First Nations Peoples: Cultural Adaptation, Effectiveness, and Feasibility Mindfulness September 1, 2024
- Mindfulness training modifies attentional bias to facial emotion and emotional symptoms. Journal of Psychiatric Research November 1, 2023
and 8 more in the library