4. Discussion
LENS
This pilot study leverages the literature on the benefits of physical activity and nature contact during short periods of recovery from work demands, while incorporating a high-fidelity virtual nature simulation. Trends in the patterns of means across conditions and task sessions/breaks, particularly when looking at well-being during the breaks, suggested a potential benefit of nature contact during work breaks. Means for state well-being for participants in the high-fidelity virtual nature condition and the actual nature condition, both of which contained more of the “cues and clues” thought to prompt recovery states in restorative environments [This study is strengthened by the inclusion of an innovative, novel form of nature contact: a high-fidelity virtual nature environment constructed as a replica of real natural lands. The inclusion of this virtual model aligns with calls for more research that leverages technology to aid in the process of recovery from work demands [Despite the limitations associated with this pilot study, these initial findings should encourage researchers to further investigate the impact of nature contact (real or virtual) on important workplace well-being outcomes. In future research that builds upon this pilot study, these results can be replicated with higher sample sizes and equal sample sizes within each condition. Future studies based on this pilot can pursue higher levels of experimental or statistical control of the baseline levels of trait well-being, pre-experimental state well-being, and pre-experimental work demands. This study can be extended by incorporating other forms of technology, such as an active workstation, to increase the physical activity fidelity of the study design. In addition, should future research replicate these findings, additional work can be dedicated to understanding the underlying mechanisms that explain how and why nature-based work breaks convey positive effects. Identifying such explanatory factors could assist virtual reality developers in determining where to focus their fidelity enhancements. Such examinations of mediators and the underlying mechanisms could also aid researchers in identifying the most pertinent theoretical lens and associated operationalizations of variables for future studies investigating physical activity and nature contact from a work recovery perspective.