Preventive Medical Effects of Nature Therapy

It is empirically known that wood can cause a comfort enhancement effect in humans. On the other hand, not enough scientific knowledge based on evidence-based research is available on this subject. However, data using physiological indices have increasingly accumulated in recent years. This review provides an overview of the current situation for peer-reviewed reports related to the physiological effects of wood. We reviewed reports that elucidated the effects of wood-derived stimulations on the olfactory, visual, auditory, and tactile sensations using physiological indices such as brain activity (e.g., near-infrared spectroscopy) and autonomic nervous activity (e.g., heart rate variability and blood pressure). It became clear that many studies were limited by (1) a small number of participants, mostly aged in their 20s; (2) use of only a single stimulus (e.g., only olfactory or only visual), or (3) an incomplete experimental design. In addition, this review examined the field of forest therapy, for which there is abundant research. Further study is needed to elucidate the physiological effects of wood on humans.

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“…In addition to these individual studies, there have been several reviews of wood-derived visual stimulation [5,34,35,38,60,[66][67][68].…”

Section: Visual Stimulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological effects of wood on humans: a review

2016

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“…heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension) (Agyemang et al 2007;Miyazaki, Lee, Park, Tsunetsugu, and Matsunaga 2011;Ottosson and Grahn 2005;Park et al 2010;Ulrich et al 1991), attention capacity (Staats, Kiviet, and Hartig 2003), and affective states (McMahan and Estes 2015;Berto 2005;Hartig et al 2003), following a stressful event (see Table 3). These effects are referred to as expressions of nature's restorative power (Ulrich 1979); their empirical investigation has started with the pioneering studies by Ulrich (1984) and Kaplan and Kaplan (1989).…”

Section: Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature: a new paradigm for well-being and ergonomics

et al. 2016

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Nature is presented as a new paradigm for ergonomics. As a discipline concerned with well-being the importance of natural environments for wellness should be part of ergonomics knowledge and practise. This position is supported by providing a concise summary of the evidence of the value of the natural environment to well-being.Further, an emerging body of research has found relationships between well-being and a connection to nature, a concept that reveals the integrative character of human experience which can inform wider practice and epistemology in ergonomics.Practitioners are encouraged to bring nature into the workplace, so that ergonomics keeps pace with the move to nature-based solutions, but also as a necessity in the current ecological and social context. Keywords: Nature, health, well-being, ergonomics.Practitioner Summary: Nature-based solutions are coming to the fore to address societal challenges such as well-being. As ergonomics is concerned with well-being there is a need for a paradigm shift in the discipline. This position is supported by providing a concise summary of the evidence of the value of the natural environment to well-being.3

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“…Unlike “specific effects” that are typically anticipated from pharmacological treatments, nature therapy seeks to improve immune functions, prevent illnesses, and maintain and promote health through exposure to nature, with the consequent attainment of a state of relaxation (Figure 1) [12,13]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological Effects of Nature Therapy: A Review of the Research in Japan

Song

Ikei

Miyazaki

2016

IJERPH

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259

202

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Humans have evolved into what they are today after the passage of 6–7 million years. If we define the beginning of urbanization as the rise of the industrial revolution, less than 0.01% of our species’ history has been spent in modern surroundings. Humans have spent over 99.99% of their time living in the natural environment. The gap between the natural setting, for which our physiological functions are adapted, and the highly urbanized and artificial setting that we inhabit is a contributing cause of the “stress state” in modern people. In recent years, scientific evidence supporting the physiological effects of relaxation caused by natural stimuli has accumulated. This review aimed to objectively demonstrate the physiological effects of nature therapy. We have reviewed research in Japan related to the following: (1) the physiological effects of nature therapy, including those of forests, urban green space, plants, and wooden material and (2) the analyses of individual differences that arise therein. The search was conducted in the PubMed database using various keywords. We applied our inclusion/exclusion criteria and reviewed 52 articles. Scientific data assessing physiological indicators, such as brain activity, autonomic nervous activity, endocrine activity, and immune activity, are accumulating from field and laboratory experiments. We believe that nature therapy will play an increasingly important role in preventive medicine in the future.

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Preventive Medical Effects of Nature Therapy

Cited by 24 publications

References 19 publications

Physiological effects of wood on humans: a review

Physiological effects of wood on humans: a review

Nature: a new paradigm for well-being and ergonomics

Physiological Effects of Nature Therapy: A Review of the Research in Japan

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