title: Do Carpets Alleviate Stress?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Owing to increased complexity in the evolution of society, stress has become an important public health problem, and is responsible for more than 30 types of diseases. Most of the research on stress conducted to date has focused on physical and psychological aspects; however, there are very few reports about the association between psychological stress and elements within the residential environment, such as the home, room, and furniture. Therefore, in this study, we focused on the effects of indoor flooring in the residential environment on stress, as flooring is a feature that the human body is in contact with for long periods of time. We objectively measured the extent of psychological stress perceived while walking on carpeting and on wood flooring.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-two healthy subjects were recruited for this study, and were asked to walk on carpeting and wood flooring for 10 min each. Their electroencephalogram (EEG) and skin impedance values were measured for each task.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The α-wave content percentage in EEG data and skin impedance values were significantly higher just after walking on carpet than just after walking on wood flooring.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Walking on carpeting induces less stress than walking on wood flooring.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neurophysiology Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Mie University, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hoki
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neurophysiology Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Mie University, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neurophysiology Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Mie University, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kasai
keywords: Carpeting; EEG; Plantar aspect; Skin impedance; Stress; Wood flooring