Pregnant women who were 'virtually' exposed to greenery experienced decreases in blood pressure and improvements in mental health and well-being, a new small-scale study found.

The research team from University of California, found that visual exposure to a virtual reality (VR) green space environment was associated with lower systolic blood pressure, reduced salivary alpha-amylase (an indicator of stress), improved positive emotions and decreased negative emotions compared to the non-green space environment.

The parklike setting received the highest positive reaction out of the three five-minute, 360-degree videos of urban environments that the women were shown in the study, the researchers said.

The findings have been published in the journal Environmental Research.