Benefits of a Three-Day Bamboo Forest Therapy Session on the Physiological Responses of University Students

Abstract

Studies have indicated that natural environments have the potential to improve the relationship between a stressful life and psychological well-being and physical health. Forest therapy has recently received widespread attention as a novel solution for stress recovery and health promotion. Bamboo is an important forest type in many countries, especially in East and Southeast Asia and in African countries. Bamboo is widespread throughout southwestern China. Empirical field research on the physiological effects of bamboo forest therapy is currently lacking. To explore the benefits of bamboo forest therapy on the physiological responses of university students, 120 university volunteers between the ages of 19 and 24 participated in this study (60 males and 60 females) and were randomly divided into four groups of equal size (15 males and 15 females in each). Four sites were selected for the experiment, including two natural bamboo forests (YA and YB), a bamboo forest park (DJY), and an urban environment (CS). During the testing period, all participants were asked to view the landscape for 15 min in the morning and then walk in the testing area for 15 min in the afternoon. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) were measured as the physiological indexes, and the semantic differential method (SDM) questionnaire was completed for the environmental satisfaction evaluation. The SDM for the subjective environmental evaluation differed significantly among the university students; they obtained a better environmental experience, in terms of sensory perception, atmosphere, climate, place, and space, in the bamboo forest sites. The three-day bamboo forest therapy session improved the physiological well-being of university students. First, the blood pressure and heart rate of the university students decreased, and the SpO2 increased, after the three-day viewing and walking activities of the three-day bamboo forest therapy session. The viewing activities had a more pronounced effect on decreased heart rate in university students. Additionally, three-day bamboo forest therapy had a positive impact on decreased systolic blood pressure and heart rate in the university students, and it was significantly decreased in females, while peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) remained relatively low. Finally, compared with the urban site (CS), the bamboo forest sites effectively improved the university students’ physiological state of health, decreased their physical pressure, and stabilized their physiological indicators. These findings provide scientific evidence that a three-day bamboo forest therapy session can increase positive physiological responses. The potential for a longer-term effect on human physiological health requires further investigation.

Public Spaces as Knowledgescapes: Understanding the Relationship between the Built Environment and Creative Encounters at Dutch University Campuses and Science Parks

“…The benefits of the proximity to green areas highlight that creativity somehow has a relationship with well-being. In those spaces, creativity can occur in a relaxed manner, [ 10 , 71 , 72 ] for instance when people take breaks, go for walks and interact with others, and not necessarily during working hours.…”

“…Scholars such as Whyte [ 65 ], Dober [ 66 , 67 ], Strange and Banning [ 68 , 69 ], Kenney et al [ 70 ], Hajrasouliha [ 33 , 34 ], Wood and Dovey [ 14 ], Francis et al [ 10 ] Lau and Yang [ 71 ] and Zeng et al [ 72 ] suggest that the following characteristics of the built environment must be considered in the planning and design of successful knowledgescapes: For the organization of urban functions, a campus has to provide a mix of sports, research, residential and various academic activities. Public spaces are reinforced by the appropriate proximity of buildings (density) and the juxtaposition of activities that complement one another (diversity).…”

Contributions of the health-promoting universities’ movement

“…In this category, 3 articles were included,[ 14 16 17 ] which corresponds to 33% of the number of articles analyzed. In this category, it was noticed that the integral provision of social, medical, and health services are considered enhancers for improvement in quality of life, since they act as interdisciplinary proposals of care and HP.…”

“…The main lifestyle modification observed in the studies is the incentive to combat sedentary lifestyle through walking in the. Their association was observed with a pleasant scenario for participants, such as forests and forests in China[ 14 ] and South Korea. [ 17 ] In this sense, the following benefits were evidenced: reduction of heart rate and blood pressure, increase in oxygen saturation, management of situations of coping with stress, reduction of depressive signs.…”

The impact of the built environment on creativity in public spaces of Dutch university campuses and science parks

“…Studies on architecture, urban design, campus design and planning such as 'flexible spaces' (Whyte 1980), 'life between buildings' (Gehl 2011;Gehl and Svarre 2013), 'physical features' and 'urban design qualities' (Ewing and Clemente 2013;Ewing et al 2016), 'landscape taxonomy' (Dober 1992;Mehta 2019), and 'post-occupancy evaluation (POE) for outdoor spaces' (Göçer et al 2018) have shown that the location of built environment features can structurally and aesthetically support peoples' behaviour and perceptions in public spaces. For this research, the relational pair of the built environment and perceived affordances of creativity at campuses was based on campus design literature (Dober 1992(Dober , 2014Strange et al, 2001;Strange and Banning 2015;Kenney et al, 2005;Hajrasouliha 2017;Lau and Yang 2009;Zeng et al 2020).…”