Assessing the restorative effects of observing a video of dog play in urban dog parks using EEG

Abstract Contact with nature is restorative and leads to health benefits via nearby nature such as gardens, natural scenes, and interactions with companion animals. Although the recovery effect of natural environments is well known, few studies examine the restorative value of watching animals in urban park settings such as off-leash dog areas in urban parks. This study aims to investigate the restorative effect of observing dog play in urban dog parks by measuring brain activity, emotional state, and perceived restorativeness. Brain activity and psychological responses were measured by electroencephalography (EEG) and the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS)/profile of mood states, respectively. The EEG results demonstrated that the dog play video produced significantly lower alpha and higher beta power spectra, which suggested that the subjects were attentive and focused by accepting the scene as an interesting stimulus. Among the subscales of the PRS, fascination plays an important role in the restorative effects of watching dog play. The subjects felt more lively, cheerful, and interested than they did when watching the city and natural view videos. Thus, the perceived restorative values of watching dog play video in dog parks are comparable to those of natural park video environments. Moreover, dog parks exerted positive effects regardless of dog ownership status by improving mood and enhancing restorative experience. Opportunities for watching dog play in safe places around dog parks through considerable park planning would extend the health benefits of dog parks to non-dog owners and improve negative attitudes toward dog parks.