Effects of Forest Therapy on Health Promotion among Middle-Aged Women: Focusing on Physiological Indicators

et al. 2021

This study aimed to establish a health and medical foundation for forest healing programs and provide a basis for developing an evaluation system for such programs. While the number of visitors to forests and interest in forest healing effects are increasing, few studies have examined the various indicators of the persistent changes in forest healing effects. Therefore, this study conducted pre-, post-, and follow-up experiments on 87 health and clinical indicators in a sample of 88 adolescent participants. The relationships between pre-, post-, and follow-up experiment results for each indicator were analyzed. Of the 87 indicators, 46 showed significant changes, including systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, cholesterol, serotonin, vitamin D, CD16+CD56 count, interferon-γ, resilience, and self-esteem. The findings are significant for studying diverse participants and indicators and lay the foundation for developing forest healing programs by clarifying aspects such as the indicators suitable for short-term observation versus the indicators requiring long-term observation. Based on these analyses, the results of this study are expected to be useful when conducting research to establish an evidence-based forest healing program in the future.

Section: Stress (Hormone)supporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introduction 1research Background and Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological and Psychological Assessments for the Establishment of Evidence-Based Forest Healing Programs

Park

Choi

et al. 2021

“…To our knowledge, there has been no research data suggesting an appropriate duration of forest healing therapy in previous studies. In our previous studies, used to evaluate the effectiveness of forest therapy for patients with gastrointestinal malignant diseases and postmenopausal insomnia patients, the studies were conducted for 5 nights and 6 days [ 23 , 24 ]. There has been no report as to the most appropriate duration of forest healing therapy for achieving a proper effect on healthy participants with no specific medical disorders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive Effects on Emotional Stress and Sleep Quality of Forest Healing Program for Exhausted Medical Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Choi

2022

This study targeted medical workers, who are currently being subjected to an excessive workload and emotional stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. Various treatment programs, such as a relaxation program to relieve stress, a walk in the forest, and woodworking were provided to the participants as forest healing therapies. We enrolled 13 medical workers (11 females, 2 males). Before and after forest healing therapy, stress and sleep-related questionnaires and levels of salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and melatonin were measured and compared. The improvement of the perceived stress scale and the decrease of DHEA-S, a stress index, showed statistically significant results. However, although this study was conducted with a small number of participants and has a limitation in that the therapy occurred over a short period of only 1 night and 2 days, the trend of supporting results remains positive. As such, the authors propose forest healing therapy as one intervention to relieve the job stress for this group of workers

“…The physiological benefits include effects on the immune system (e.g., natural killer cells), insulin, oxidative stress, nervous system (e.g., heart rate), salivary cortisol, oxyhemoglobin, the cardio-circulatory system, and the respiratory system. In terms of social wellbeing, effects include social skills, emotional skills, self-esteem, and inspiration [ 4 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psycho-Electrophysiological Benefits of Forest Therapies Focused on Qigong and Walking with Elderly Individuals

Khil

et al. 2021

Self Cite

We developed two distinct forest therapy programs (FTPs) and compared their effects on dementia prevention and related health problems for older adults. One was focused on Qigong practice in the forest (QP) and the other involved active walking in the forest (WP). Both FTPs consisted of twelve 2-h sessions over six weeks and were conducted in an urban forest. We obtained data from 25, 18, and 26 participants aged 65 years or above for the QP, WP, and control groups, respectively. Neuropsychological scores via cognition (MoCA), geriatric depression (GDS) and quality of life (EQ-5D), and electrophysiological variables (electroencephalography, bioimpedance, and heart rate variability) were measured. We analyzed the intervention effects with a generalized linear model. Compared to the control group, the WP group showed benefits in terms of neurocognition (increases in the MoCA score, and alpha and beta band power values in the electroencephalogram), sympathetic nervous activity, and bioimpedance in the lower body. On the other hand, the QP group showed alleviated depression and an increased bioimpedance phase angle in the upper body. In conclusion, both active walking and Qigong in the forest were shown to have distinctive neuropsychological and electrophysiological benefits, and both had beneficial effects in terms of preventing dementia and relieving related health problems for elderly individuals.