Looking at pictures of nature or city scenes can both make your brain relax in the same way—so nature isn’t special for this effect.

Participants are exposed to randomized sequences of natural and urban visual stimuli (e.g., images or VR environments) while EEG measures alpha wave power; each participant serves as their own control to isolate the effect of exposure type on alpha power.

Same participants view multiple standardized visual stimuli (natural vs. urban) in a lab setting while alpha power is continuously recorded; statistical comparison determines if both types produce equivalent increases in alpha power.

Participants view visual stimuli while autonomic markers (heart rate variability, skin conductance) are recorded alongside EEG to confirm if increased alpha power corresponds with physiological relaxation, and whether both natural and urban stimuli produce identical patterns.

Participants wear portable EEG headsets while walking through natural (e.g., park) and urban (e.g., downtown) environments; alpha power is compared between settings to test if both environments produce similar increases.

Systematic aggregation of published EEG studies measuring alpha power changes during natural and urban visual exposure to determine if effect sizes are statistically indistinguishable.