title: Physiological and Psychological Effects of a Forest Therapy Program on Middle-Aged Females.
abstract: The natural environment is increasingly recognized as an effective counter to urban stress, and "Forest Therapy" has recently attracted attention as a relaxation and stress management activity with demonstrated clinical efficacy. The present study assessed the physiological and psychological effects of a forest therapy program on middle-aged females. Seventeen Japanese females (62.2 ± 9.4 years; mean ± standard deviation) participated in this experiment. Pulse rate, salivary cortisol level, and psychological indices were measured on the day before forest therapy and on the forest therapy day. Pulse rate and salivary cortisol were significantly lower than baseline following forest therapy, indicating that subjects were in a physiologically relaxed state. Subjects reported feeling significantly more "comfortable," "relaxed," and "natural" according to the semantic differential (SD) method. The Profile of Mood State (POMS) negative mood subscale score for "tension-anxiety" was significantly lower, while that for "vigor" was significantly higher following forest therapy. Our study revealed that forest therapy elicited a significant (1) decrease in pulse rate, (2) decrease in salivary cortisol levels, (3) increase in positive feelings, and (4) decrease in negative feelings. In conclusion, there are substantial physiological and psychological benefits of forest therapy on middle-aged females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, National hospital organization Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo 152-8902, Japan. ochiroko@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ochiai
authors.affiliation: Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 277-0882, Japan. ikei0224@ffpri.affrc.go.jp.|Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan. ikei0224@ffpri.affrc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Harumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikei
authors.affiliation: Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 277-0882, Japan. crsong1028@chiba-u.jp.
authors.forename: Chorong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan. mk831111@nms.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Maiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Agematsu Town Office Industry &amp; Tourism Department, Nagano 399-5601, Japan. agkk5180@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.affiliation: Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan. kagawa@ffpri.affrc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Takahide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kagawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan. qing-li@nms.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Nagano Prefectural Kiso Hospital, Nagano 397-8555, Japan. kumeda@titan.ocn.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Shigeyoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumeda
authors.affiliation: Le Verseau Inc., Tokyo 156-0051, Japan. leverseau@mvb.biglobe.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.affiliation: Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba 277-0882, Japan. ymiyazaki@faculty.chiba-u.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D065928:Forests; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012063:Relaxation / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Profile of Mood State; forest therapy program; middle-aged females; pulse rate; salivary cortisol; semantic differential method