title: The effects of exercise in forest and urban environments on sympathetic nervous activity of normal young adults.
abstract: In Japan, forest-air bathing and walking (shinrin-yoku) has been proposed as a health-facilitating activity in which people spend a short period of time in a forest environment. Initially, we examined the usefulness of salivary amylase activity as an indicator of an individual's stress levels in a forest environment. The circadian rhythm of salivary amylase activity was measured in healthy young male subjects under stress-free conditions. The salivary amylase activity remained relatively constant throughout the day. Salivary amylase activity was then measured before and after walking in both urban and forest environments using a hand-held monitor. Our results indicated that (i) the circadian rhythm fluctuations in salivary amylase activity were much smaller than the stressor-induced variations; (ii) salivary amylase activity was an excellent indicator of the changes in sympathetic nervous activity; and (iii) the forest was a good environment in which people could experience much less environment-derived stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Systems Engineering and Life Science, Faculty of Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan. yamag@eng.toyama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deguchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000681:Amylases / Q000378:metabolism; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012423:Rural Health; D012463:Saliva / Q000201:enzymology; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000201:enzymology; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D014197:Trees; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D000681:Amylases