The Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Psychological Effects of Viewing Forest Landscapes in Autumn Season

Joung, Da-Wou; Kim, Geonwoo; Choi, Yoon–Ho; Lim, Hyo-Jin; Park, Soonjoo; Woo, Jong-Min; Park, Bum-Jin

doi:10.3390/ijerph120707235

Cited by 81 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Furthermore, after exposure to the forest environment, SVS scores were higher than after exposure to the urban environment. Consistent with previous studies [2,5,10,11,14,17,33,34], this study confirmed that short periods of forest recreation in a snow-covered forest (in this case: 15 minutes of relaxation in this environment) have a significant effect on mood states of participants. The negative indices of mood states, including tension-anxiety, anger-hostility, depression-dejection, confusion, and fatigue, decreased after exposure to the forest environment.…”

Section: Svssupporting

confidence: 91%

The Effect of Recreation in a Snow-Covered Forest Environment on the Psychological Relaxation of Young Females

Bielinis¹,

Lukowski²,

Omelan³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Forest recreation can be successfully conducted for the purpose of psychological relaxation, as has been proven in previous scientific studies. During the winter in many countries, when snow cover occurs frequently, forest recreation (walking, relaxation, photography, etc.) is common. Nevertheless, whether forest therapy conducted in a forest environment with a snow cover will also have a positive effect on psychological indicators remains unknown. Furthermore, male subjects frequently participate in forest therapy experiments, whereas females are rarely involved. Thus, in this study, the effectuality of forest recreation during winter and with snow cover was tested on 32 young females. For these reasons, the experiment involved 15-minute periods of relaxation in a forest environment or in an urban environment, in addition to a pre-test under indoor conditions. Four psychological questionnaires (POMS, PANAS, ROS, SVS) were administered to participants before and after interventions. Results showed that participants’ levels of negative mood, as measured by different aspects of the POMS questionnaire (tension-anxiety, anger-hostility, depression-dejection, confusion, fatigue), decreased after exposure to the forest environment. In contrast, both tension-anxiety and anger-hostility increased in the urban environment. The indicator of negative affect from the PANAS questionnaire also increased after exposure to the urban environment, whereas the indicator of positive affect based on PANAS was higher in the forest environment than in the urban environment. Restorativeness and subjective vitality exhibited higher values after exposure to the forest environment in comparison to those from the control and pre-test. The changes in these indicators demonstrates that forest recreation in the snow during winter can significantly increase psychological relaxation in young females, as well as showing that recreation can be successfully conducted under these winter conditions.

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Section: Svssupporting

confidence: 91%

The Effect of Recreation in a Snow-Covered Forest Environment on the Psychological Relaxation of Young Females

Bielinis¹,

Lukowski²,

Omelan³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This result was different from some existing research conclusions. Some studies suggested that for stress reduction, more nature was better [14][15][16][17]41,42]. However, some studies have not indicated that the more natural the environment, the better the effect of relieving stress.…”

Section: The More Natural Not Necessarily the Better: The Decompressmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Viewing Photos of Different Types of Rural Landscapes on Stress in Beijing

et al. 2019

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The environment can affect people’s health by relieving stress, and rural landscape as a special environment might influence human’s stress relief. This study takes different types of rural landscapes as the research object to explore their impact on stress levels, which are shown by photos. As an independent variable, the rural landscape is divided into three levels: Type 1 (natural landscape), type 2 (productive landscape), and type 3 (artificial landscape). Seventy-three subjects were randomly assigned to each type of rural landscape. Salivary cortisol, blood pressure, heart rate, and a subjective rating state scale (brief profile of mood states, BPOMS) were used as indicators of stress. At the same time, the influence of preference and familiarity on the stress relieving effect was also discussed. A paired t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used as the main statistical methods. In the results of t-test for pre-posttest, significant difference was observed in high blood pressure, heart rate, and total mood disturbance (TMD) of type 1 and type 2, and the high and low blood pressure of type 3; ANOVA analysis revealed that for the difference of pre-posttest, significant difference was observed in the TMD value among the three types; except for type 3, blood pressure, heart rate, and BPOMS values were significantly affected by preference and familiarity. The conclusions include the following: The three types of rural landscapes have a positive effect on relieving stress; the productive landscape has the best effect on relieving stress; and users’ landscape preferences and familiarity with the environment can affect the effect of stress relief in rural landscapes.

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“…Moreover, compared with a city setting, a forest therapy program led to a significant increase in parasympathetic nerve activity [19] and lower sympathetic nerve activity [17]. Additionally, some research has shown that compared with the urban environment, forest therapy was capable of enhancing positive mood states and reducing negative mood states as specific psychological responses [20][21][22][23]. In addition, forest therapy trips resulted in an increase in natural killer (NK) cell activity, which was mediated by increases in the number of NK cells and the levels of intracellular granulysin, perforin, and granzymes A/B in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) [24][25][26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of A Three-Day Bamboo Forest Therapy Session on the Psychophysiology and Immune System Responses of Male College Students

Zeng

Xie

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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Forest therapy is a fast-growing treatment approach, as it has the potential to alleviate stressful life events and to improve psychological well-being and physical health. Bamboo forests are widespread in southwestern China. Nevertheless, a knowledge gap on the specific health benefits of bamboo forest (BF) therapy still exists. To explore the psycho-physiologic responses of participants to the effects of BF therapy, 60 male adults aged between 19 and 24, with similar healthy conditions, were selected to participate in this study. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used for the BF sites and the city site (CS) to compare the difference in the psycho-physiologic responses of participants before and after the test. Participants at the BF sites participated in a three-day bamboo forest therapy session, and those at the CS participated in a three-day urban program. Blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation were measured as the physical signs, and the profile of mood state (POMS) questionnaire was completed by the participants for the psychological evaluation. Blood was sampled, and natural killer (NK) activity, the number of NK cells, and the levels of corticosterone, granulysin, perforin, and granzyme A/B in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) were measured. All the measurements mentioned above were performed at 08:00 on the first and fourth days within the test. Results indicated that the three-day BF therapy was capable of enhancing positive mood states and also reducing negative mood states in the male participants. The blood pressure and heart rates of the male participants decreased, while the peripheral oxygen saturation increased after the three-day BF therapy session. Furthermore, BF therapy significantly increased NK activity and the number of NK cells and perforin-, granulysin-, and granzyme A/B-expressing cells and significantly decreased the corticosterone level in PBLs in the male participants. The three-day BF therapy session improved the psychological and physiological well-being and enhanced the immune functions of the male college students.

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The Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Psychological Effects of Viewing Forest Landscapes in Autumn Season

Cited by 81 publications

References 21 publications

The Effect of Recreation in a Snow-Covered Forest Environment on the Psychological Relaxation of Young Females

The Effect of Recreation in a Snow-Covered Forest Environment on the Psychological Relaxation of Young Females

The Influence of Viewing Photos of Different Types of Rural Landscapes on Stress in Beijing

Benefits of A Three-Day Bamboo Forest Therapy Session on the Psychophysiology and Immune System Responses of Male College Students

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