Physiological and Psychological Effects of a Forest Therapy Program on Middle-Aged Females

Ochiai, Hiroko; Ikei, Harumi; Song, Chorong; Kobayashi, Maiko; Miura, Takashi; Kagawa, Takahide; Li, Qing; Kumeda, Shigeyoshi; Imai, Michiko; Miyazaki, Y.

doi:10.3390/ijerph121214984

Cited by 160 publications

(230 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Taking ordinary people as participants, it was found that their anxiety can also be alleviated in 1-2 days (Park et al 2007, 2011, Lee et al 2009, Ochiai et al 2015. In addition, young adults and middle-aged hypertensive patients can even perceive less anxious in a 15-min long forest bathing (Song et al 2013(Song et al , 2015. These results together suggest that forest bathing had the potential of short-term effect on anxiety of ordinary healthy people.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…It was found that spending time in a forest can effectively reduce mental stress and alleviate anxiety (Morita et al 2007, Kim et al 2009, Park et al 2011, Ochiai et al 2015, Song et al 2016, Chun et al 2016. This function was recognized as the term of "forest bathing", i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the negative mood of exhaustion-disorder and hypertensive patients was regulated by forest bathing after repeated visits for several months in the forest (Sonntag-Öström et al 2015a, Chun et al 2016) and mood of chronic stroke patients can be improved by 3-4 days of forest bathing (Chun et al 2016). Taking ordinary people as participants, it was found that their anxiety can also be alleviated in 1-2 days (Park et al 2007, 2011, Lee et al 2009, Ochiai et al 2015. In addition, young adults and middle-aged hypertensive patients can even perceive less anxious in a 15-min long forest bathing (Song et al 2013(Song et al , 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The tree-species-specific effect of forest bathing on perceived anxiety alleviation of young-adults in urban forests

Guan

Wei

et al. 2017

Ann. For. Res.

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He X., Ren Z., An B., 2017. The tree-species-specific effect of forest bathing on perceived anxiety alleviation of young-adults in urban forests. Ann. For. Res. 60(2): 327-341.Abstract. Forest bathing, i.e. spending time in a forest to walk, view and breathe in a forest, can alleviate the mental depression of visitors, but the tree-species-specific effect of this function by the urban forest is unknown. In this study, sixty-nine university students (aged 19-22, male ratio: 38%) were recruited as participants to visit urban forests dominated by birch (Betula platyphylla Suk.), maple (Acer triflorum Komarov) and oak (Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb) trees in a park at the center of Changchun City, Northeast China. In the maple forest only the anxiety from study interest was decreased, while the anxiety from employment pressure was alleviated to the most extent in the birch forest. Participants perceived more anxiety from lesson declined in the oak forest than in the birch forest. Body parameters of weight and age were correlated with the anti-anxiety scores. In the oak forest, female participants can perceive more anxiety alleviation than male participants. For university students, forest bathing in our study can promote their study interest. Forest bathing can be more effective to alleviate the anxiety of young adults with greater weight. The birch forest was recommended to be visited by students to alleviate the pressure of employment worry, and the oak forest was recommended to be visited by girls.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The tree-species-specific effect of forest bathing on perceived anxiety alleviation of young-adults in urban forests

Guan

Wei

et al. 2017

Ann. For. Res.

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“…Consequently, the confounding effects (e.g., noise) may influence the impacts of the intervention. Many of the previous studies also used small sample sizes to avoid the abovementioned drawbacks while discerning the influences of forest bathing on health [15,24,25]. For example, Lee et al [15] recruited twelve adult males, and Ochiai et al [25] included nine middle-aged men to investigate the effects of forest bathing.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Forest Bathing on Stress Recovery: Evidence from Middle-Aged Females of Taiwan

Chen

Lee

2018

Forests

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Previous literature highlights the effects of forests on reviving psychological and physiological health. Given that middle-aged women are vulnerable to stress due to the transition in their lives, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of forest bathing on their stress recovery using a field experiment design. This study examined both psychological and physiological responses after a forest therapy program among a middle-aged female group. Sixteen middle-aged (46.88 ± 7.83 years) women were recruited for a two-day (one-night) forest therapy program in the Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area (Nantou, Taiwan). Psychological indices were measured by Profile of Mood States (POMS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Physiological indicators included pulse rate, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, and salivary α-amylase. Both psychological and physiological measurements were collected before and after the program. The results showed that negative mood states (i.e., confusion, fatigue, anger-hostility, and tension) and anxiety levels were significantly reduced after visiting forests. In contrast, positive mood state (vigor) was improved after the program. Regarding the physiological responses, a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure response was found after the program. In sum, the two-day forest therapy program benefited to mental health and systolic blood pressure among the middle-aged female group.

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“…Water is additionally associated with positive impacts to human perceptions of aesthetics, increased biodiversity, and increased urban quality of life (Völker & Kistemann, 2011;Cooper et al, 2017). Other studies on human well-being have focused on forested landscapes, suggesting recreational areas with high amounts of "greenness" may be associated with higher human well-being benefits Tsunetsugu et al, 2007;Tsunetsugu et al, 2010;Lee et al, 2011, Ochiai et al, 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Human-Environment Systems Approach to Outdoor Recreation, Human Biological Stress, and Landscape Aesthetics

Opdahl¹

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Outdoor recreation, as the intersection between physical exercise and nature, provides a multitude of psychological and physiological benefits to human well-being.Though many studies have reported qualitative stress reduction from outdoor recreation, few have focused on quantitative measurements of stress across recreational activity types, intrapersonal differences, and environmental variables. To determine whether outdoor recreation affects physiology, we collected 190 paired salivary cortisol and testosterone samples and 157 surveys from 88 hikers, 81 mountain bikers, and 44 offhighway vehicle (OHV) motorists. After recreation, cortisol concentrations were significantly reduced in hikers and OHV motorists, but cortisol and testosterone concentrations increased in mountain bikers. These three recreational activity types also significantly differed in motivation and wildlife observations, which could be additional mechanisms of physiological change. Out of all three recreation types, hikers were most motivated by environmental variables. To test how the environment could be affecting hikers, we evaluated the impact of landscape aesthetic perceptions and land cover types on hiker spatial movement and stress relief. Using data from 58 GPS tracks, we found that salivary cortisol was significantly reduced when hikers walked through riparian areas. Hiker cortisol also decreased after recreating in areas they perceived as aesthetically pleasing. Aesthetic quality influenced hiker spatial movement, with hikers choosing to recreate in high-aesthetic high-wildlife observance riparian areas. Though hiker movement and stress were not related to the intensity of visitor use, wildlife vi observations decreased with greater recreational utilization. Hikers, however, did not perceive any negative impact from their recreational activities. Despite the different forms of recreational activity, outdoor recreation has potential to benefit human wellbeing. In addition, managing recreational land for ecosystem health and wildlife may enhance well-being benefits, as well as serving a role in the conservation of wildlands.

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Physiological and Psychological Effects of a Forest Therapy Program on Middle-Aged Females

Cited by 160 publications

References 28 publications

The tree-species-specific effect of forest bathing on perceived anxiety alleviation of young-adults in urban forests

The tree-species-specific effect of forest bathing on perceived anxiety alleviation of young-adults in urban forests

The Effects of Forest Bathing on Stress Recovery: Evidence from Middle-Aged Females of Taiwan

A Human-Environment Systems Approach to Outdoor Recreation, Human Biological Stress, and Landscape Aesthetics

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