Can a 6-day guided hiking and mindfulness programme in biodiverse Alpine landscapes improve wellbeing and reduce rumination in older adults?

A single-centre, two-arm, randomized controlled clinical field trial evaluating a 6-day nature-based therapy programme delivered in biodiverse Alpine environments versus usual-life control on rumination, psychological wellbeing and allostatic load in adults aged 60–75 years with elevated rumination.

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN10469927

Enrollment

Registered

2026-05-07

Start date

2026-03-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-08-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Stress-related conditions in older adults with elevated rumination Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

Participants are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention arm or the control arm. Randomization is performed by an independent biometrician using an open-source add-in for Microsoft

each hike covers 2–7 km with up to 500 m elevation gain, and groups include up to 16 participants accompanied by at least one trained hiking guide. During these hikes, participants receive 30–60 minut

in the control arm, questionnaires and saliva samples are collected online by self-sampling with freezing of the sample. At T1 (day 6), only the intervention arm undergoes post-intervention assessment

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

60 Years to 75 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Age between 60 and 75 years 2. Elevated rumination according to the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS-10) 3. Physical ability for light hiking tours (duration 3–6 hours; elevation gain 300–600 meters/day) 4. Ability to live independently

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Uncontrolled hypertension (=180/=100 mmHg) 2. Abnormal blood glucose levels: fasting =140 mg/dl or 200 mg/dl 3. Renal insufficiency (serum creatinine >2.0) 4. Malnutrition (serum albumin 4.0 mU/l) 8. Cognitive impairments (Mini Mental Status 10 cigarettes/day 17. Immunosuppressive therapy (e.g. prednisolone, Imuran, methotrexate, monoclonal antibodies such as Tacrolimus or Everolimus)

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Rumination measured using the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) - 10 at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Psychological well-being measured using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Physiological regulation / allostatic load measured using heart rate variability (HRV; RMSSD, HF-band), measured using the Polar Vantage V3 watch, with recording and analysis in Kubios HRV (Premium), including artefact correction; blood pressure (BP), measured using the Omron Healthcare M400 Intelli IT; peak expiratory flow (PEF), measured using a peak flow meter; salivary interleukin-6/interleukin-10 (IL-6/IL-10), measured using Salimetrics kits; and salivary cortisol/dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (cortisol/DHEA-S), measured using Salimetrics kits, at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90)	—

Measure

Time frame

Rumination measured using the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) - 10 at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Psychological well-being measured using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Physiological regulation / allostatic load measured using heart rate variability (HRV; RMSSD, HF-band), measured using the Polar Vantage V3 watch, with recording and analysis in Kubios HRV (Premium), including artefact correction; blood pressure (BP), measured using the Omron Healthcare M400 Intelli IT; peak expiratory flow (PEF), measured using a peak flow meter; salivary interleukin-6/interleukin-10 (IL-6/IL-10), measured using Salimetrics kits; and salivary cortisol/dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (cortisol/DHEA-S), measured using Salimetrics kits, at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90)

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Sleep quality measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Life evaluation / anxiety-worry measured using the ONS-4 core module at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Biopsychosocial resilience measured using the Comprehensive Resilience Scale (CRS) at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Nature connectedness measured using the Nature Connectedness Index (NCI) at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90)	—

Measure

Time frame

Sleep quality measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Life evaluation / anxiety-worry measured using the ONS-4 core module at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Biopsychosocial resilience measured using the Comprehensive Resilience Scale (CRS) at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90);Nature connectedness measured using the Nature Connectedness Index (NCI) at T0 baseline (day 0), T1 post-intervention (day 6), T2 follow-up 1 (day 30), and T3 follow-up 2 (day 90)

—

Countries

Austria

Contacts

Public ContactBarbara;Arnulf Fixl;Hartl

;

barbara.fixl@pmu.ac.at;arnulf.hartl@pmu.ac.at+43 662 242080542;+4369914420022

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Aug 25, 2026