Analysis of Individual Variations in Autonomic Responses to Urban and Forest Environments

Kobayashi, Hiromitsu; Song, Chorong; Ikei, Harumi; Kagawa, Takahide; Miyazaki, Y.

doi:10.1155/2015/671094

Cited by 40 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Olfactory stimulation by Japanese cypress leaf oil and inhalation of D-limonene enhanced parasympathetic nervous activity by 34.5 and 26.4 %, respectively, compared with a control (air) [5,6]; these findings were in accordance with the results of our previous laboratory experiments [17,18]. In our forest therapy field experiment, which included a large sample size of 625 participants [19], 79.2 % of the participants showed an increase in parasympathetic nervous activity in a forest environment compared with that in an urban environment. However, only 63.5 % of the participants exhibited decreases in sympathetic nervous activity [19].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In our forest therapy field experiment, which included a large sample size of 625 participants [19], 79.2 % of the participants showed an increase in parasympathetic nervous activity in a forest environment compared with that in an urban environment. However, only 63.5 % of the participants exhibited decreases in sympathetic nervous activity [19]. Based on these findings, we concluded that the parasympathetic nervous activity index of HRV was more sensitive than the sympathetic nervous activity index.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of olfactory stimulation by α-pinene on autonomic nervous activity

2016

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of olfactory stimulation by α-pinene on autonomic nervous activity

2016

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“…However, the benefits of forest-walking are not only psychological. Other studies have shown that it has desirable effects on physiological functions as well, including decreased blood pressure (8)(9)(10)(11), increased high-frequency component (HF) of heart rate variability (HRV) (12)(13)(14)(15), decreased cerebral activity (16), and enhanced immune functions (17,18).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Effect of Walking and Forest Environment on Salivary Cortisol Concentration

Kobayashi

Song

Ikei

et al. 2019

Front. Public Health

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We investigated the effects of walking in a forest environment on salivary cortisol concentrations. Seventy-four young male participants walked for 15 min in forested and urban environments, and saliva was collected before and after walking. Our previous study reported salivary cortisol concentrations after walking only. This study was aimed at clarifying the combined effects of walking and environment by comparing post-walking data with pre-walking data. Walking in a forest environment decreased mean cortisol concentration from 9.70 to 8.37 nmol/L, whereas walking in an urban environment barely changed mean cortisol concentration, from 10.28 to 10.01 nmol/L. Two-way repeated analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction effect between the environment and walking (p < 0.001) in addition to the main effects of each (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, for walking and environment, respectively). For further analysis, the proportion of participants who exhibited decreased cortisol after forest-walking was compared with the previously reported proportion of participants who exhibited decreased cortisol after viewing forest landscapes. Although the proportion of positive responders was slightly higher after walking (69%) than it was after viewing (60%), this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.093). The present study revealed a significant combined effect of walking and the environment on cortisol concentrations.

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“…Moreover, research using newly developed indices such as the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS; Korpela and Hartig 1996;Hartig et al 1997a;Hartig et al 1997b), the Restorative Outcome Scale (ROS; Korpela et al 2008;Korpela et al 2010), and the Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS; Ryan and Frederick 1997) has shown that forest bathing results in psychological restoration and improved vigor (Takayama and Kagawa 2013;Takayama, Korpela, Lee et al 2014b;Tyrväinen et al 2014). Furthermore, Kobayashi et al (2015) performed a large-scale field experiment throughout Japan in 60 forests known as "therapy bases" maintained for forest bathing. Finally, a few notable studies have confirmed the considerable physiological and psychological effects not only of remote forests but also of urban forests (Tsunetsugu et al 2013;Tyrväinen et al 2014b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of slight thinning of managed coniferous forest on landscape appreciation and psychological restoration

Takayama

Saito

Fujiwara

et al. 2017

Prog Earth Planet Sci

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We investigated the influence of slight thinning (percentage of woods: 16.6%, basal area: 9.3%) on landscape appreciation and the psychological restorative effect of an on-site setting by exposing respondents to an ordinarily managed coniferous woodland. The experiments were conducted in an experimental plot in the same coniferous woodland in May (unthinned) and October 2013 (thinned). The respondents were the same 15 individuals for both experiments. Respondents were individually exposed to the enclosed plot and the forest-view plot within the same tent for 15 min. In both sessions, respondents were required to answer three questionnaires measuring their mood (Profile of Mood States), emotion (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), and feeling of restoration (Restorative Outcome Scale) to investigate the psychological restorative effect before and after the experiment. They completed two other questionnaires measuring appreciation for the environment (Semantic Differential) and the restorative properties of the environment (Perceived Restorativeness Scale) following the experiments. We first analyzed the difference in landscape appreciation between the unthinned and thinned conditions. We did not find any statistical difference in appreciation for the environment (Semantic Differential) or the restorative properties of the environment (Perceived Restorativeness Scale); rather, we found that weather conditions had a primary influence on landscape appreciation. With respect to the psychological restorative effect, a two-way repeated analysis of valiance (ANOVA) revealed significant main effects for a selection of indices, depending on the presence or absence of thinning. However, multiple comparison analyses revealed that these effects seemed to be due to the difference in the experimental experience rather than the presence or absence of thinning. In conclusion, the effect of the slight thinning of the managed coniferous forest was too weak to be reflected in the respondents' landscape appreciation or to exert a psychological restorative effect. Therefore, planners should consider stronger thinning as it is unlikely to result in serious damage to users' appreciation and may increase their landscape appreciation of coniferous woodland and enhance its psychological restorative effect.

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Analysis of Individual Variations in Autonomic Responses to Urban and Forest Environments

Cited by 40 publications

References 32 publications

Effects of olfactory stimulation by α-pinene on autonomic nervous activity

Effects of olfactory stimulation by α-pinene on autonomic nervous activity

Combined Effect of Walking and Forest Environment on Salivary Cortisol Concentration

The effect of slight thinning of managed coniferous forest on landscape appreciation and psychological restoration

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