The influence of urban green environments on stress relief measures: A field experiment

Tyrväinen, Liisa; Ojala, Ann; Korpela, Kalevi; Lanki, Timo; Tsunetsugu, Yuko; Kagawa, Takahide

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.12.005

Cited by 713 publications

(602 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In addition to pleasant visual stimuli, park walking may engage other senses, thereby adding to the enjoyable experience, for example, hearing the birds singing (Ratcliffe, Gatersleben, & Sowden, 2013), or feeling the sun or wind on the skin. Research in environmental psychology has shown that walking in natural environments elicits more positive emotions than walking in urban environments (McMahan & Estes, 2015), and one study found similar effects among working adults taking walks after work (Tyrväinen et al, 2014).…”

Section: Park Walks and Relaxation Exercises Promoting Lunchtime Recomentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing daily well-being at work through lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises: Recovery experiences as mediators.

Sianoja

Syrek

Bloom

et al. 2018

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Self Cite

115

132

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Only few studies so far have examined recovery from work during workday breaks. In this intervention study, based on the effort-recovery model and the conservation of resources theory, we examined how to enhance recovery during lunch breaks. More specifically, we examined the within-person effects of lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises on employees’ levels of concentration, strain, and fatigue experienced at the end of a working day. We moreover tested whether detachment from work and enjoyment experienced during lunch breaks transmitted the effects of these activities to well-being outcomes. Participants in the park walk (n = 51) and relaxation (n = 46) groups were asked to complete a 15-min exercise during their lunch break on 10 consecutive working days. Afternoon well-being, lunchtime detachment, and lunchtime enjoyment were assessed twice a week before, during, and after the intervention, altogether for 5 weeks. Multilevel analysis results showed that park walks at lunchtime were related to better concentration and less fatigue in the afternoon through enjoyment. Relaxation exercises were related to better concentration in the afternoon via detachment. In addition, relaxation exercises were directly linked to lower levels of strain and fatigue in the afternoon. Our study suggests that on days on which employees engage in recovering activities during lunch breaks, they experience higher levels of well-being at the end of a working day. These results add to the theory-based knowledge on recovery during workday breaks and highlight the importance of breaks for organizational practices.

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Section: Park Walks and Relaxation Exercises Promoting Lunchtime Recomentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing daily well-being at work through lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises: Recovery experiences as mediators.

Sianoja

Syrek

Bloom

et al. 2018

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Self Cite

115

132

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Evidences that support the positive impact of nature on people's physiological well-being are not scarce (Kellert 2012) and scientifically tested (Ryan et al 2014). Examples include improved mental health (Tyrväinen et al 2014;Ulrich 1979), reduced stress (Berman, Jonides, and Kaplan 2008;Matsunaga et al 2011), increased well-being (Ikei et al 2014;Ulrich et al 1991), attention restoration (Kaplan 1995;Raanaas et al 2011) and faster healing rates (Park and Mattson 2008;Ulrich 1984).Providing a window with a view to a pleasing nature scene or indoor planning allows the eye to adjust and re-focus, which reduces fatigue, headaches resulting in better health, less frustration, and better overall performance in work places (Kaplan 1992; Van and Bergs 2001). In the healthcare sector, a recent substantial report found that providing patients with views of nature could save the U.S. healthcare authorities up to $93 million/year (Browning 2012).…”

Section: Review Of Studies Mitigating Sbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sick building syndrome: are we doing enough?

AlWaer

Omrany

Ghaffarianhoseini

et al. 2018

Architectural Science Review

160

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Health and well-being are vitally important aspects of people centric building design and are the roots of productivity. Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a collection of factors that can negatively affect physical health in several ways. Besides physical health is also related to psychological well-being because the human body is one interactive biological system. This paper focuses on reviewing the current state of knowledge on building sickness syndrome which has been prevalent as a building illness since the 1970s especially in offices and schools. While the concepts of intelligent, smart and sustainable buildings have gained considerable attention during recent decades, there is now increasing attention being given to designing healthy buildings. This study provides a review about SBS symptoms. Several negative effects of SBS are identified and potential solutions are advocated. Finally, the study stresses the role of built environment and concludes that ongoing research towards tackling SBS and developing healthy indoor environments should not be limited to a single formula as any health-related building design approach is dependent on several interacting factors. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…Urban green is used for recreation and important to human well-being. However, lawns are not considered being as high contributors to well-being as forests (Tyrväinen et al 2014) and more nature like areas (Ode-Sang et al 2016). Studies even show not even private house lawns are seldom used (Norlin and Wissman unpublished).…”

Section: Ecosystem Services and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating urban lawn cover in space and time: Case studies in three Swedish cities

et al. 2017

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Lawns are considered monocultures and lesser contributors to sustainability than diverse nature but are still a dominating green area feature and an important cultural phenomenon in cities. Lawns have esthetical values, provide playground, are potential habitat for species, contribute to carbon sequestration and water infiltration, but also increase pesticides, fertilization, are monocultures and costly to manage at the same time. To evaluate the potential impact of lawns, whether positive or negative, it is of interest to estimate the total lawn cover in cities and its change over time. This is not a straightforward process, e.g., because many lawns are small and covered by trees. In this study we review the existing literature of lawn cover in cities and the different methodologies used for cover estimation. We found both pros and cons with NDVI and LiDAR data as well as manually interpreted aerial photos. The total cover of lawns in three case study cities was estimated to 22.5%. By extrapolating these percentages to all Swedish cities lawn cover was estimated to 2589 km 2 (0.6% of the terrestrial surface). The approximated total municipal management cost of lawns in all Swedish cities was 910,000,000 USD/ year. During 50 years lawn area almost doubled in relative cover and 56% of them were continuously managed. Since lawns constitute large parts of the urban greenery and are costly to manage it is highly relevant to consider their social, ecological and cultural value compared to alternatives, e.g., meadows with less intensive management.

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The influence of urban green environments on stress relief measures: A field experiment

Cited by 713 publications

References 44 publications

Enhancing daily well-being at work through lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises: Recovery experiences as mediators.

Enhancing daily well-being at work through lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises: Recovery experiences as mediators.

Sick building syndrome: are we doing enough?

Estimating urban lawn cover in space and time: Case studies in three Swedish cities

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