title: The physiological and psychological relaxing effects of viewing rose flowers in office workers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, the physiological relaxing effect brought by nature is becoming clear; however, many workers find it difficult to be exposed to nature in their working environment. Exposure to fresh flowers represents an opportunity to incorporate nature into their working lives. In this study, we examined the effects of exposure to roses on physiological and psychological variables (heart rate variability, pulse rate, and subjective responses) in office workers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The experimental site was Mizuho Information & Research Institute, Inc., in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Thirty-one male office workers were included in the present study. The subjects were exposed to thirty unscented pink roses (Rosa, Dekora) arranged in a cylindrical glass vase for 4 min. In the control condition, the subjects were not exposed to flowers. After the experiments, the subjects completed a questionnaire. The order of exposure was counterbalanced among subjects. Among subjects exposed to roses, the high-frequency component of heart rate variability was significantly higher than in controls. Similarly, 'comfortable,' 'relaxed' and 'natural' feelings were more common in subjects exposed to roses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data from this study support the presence of physiological and psychological relaxing effects of being exposed to flowers on office workers.
authors.forename: Harumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikei
authors.forename: Misako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Komatsu
authors.forename: Chorong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Himoro
authors.affiliation: Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. ymiyazaki@faculty.chiba-u.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D035264:Flowers; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012063:Relaxation / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D027826:Rosa; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires