Effects of Short-Term Forest Bathing on Human Health in a Broad-Leaved Evergreen Forest in Zhejiang Province,China

Objective To investigate the effects of short-term forest bathing on human health. Methods Twenty healthy male university students participated as subjects and were randomly divided into two groups of 10. One group was sent on a two-night trip to a broad-leaved evergreen forest, and the other was sent to a city area. Serum cytokine levels reflecting inflammatory and stress response, indicators reflecting oxidative stress, the distribution of leukocyte subsets, and plasma endothelin-1 （ET-1） concentrations were measured before and after the experiment to evaluate the positive health effects of forest environments. A profile of mood states （POMS） evaluation was used to assess changes in mood states. Results No significant differences in the baseline values of the indicators were observed between the two groups before the experiment. Subjects exposed to the forest environment showed reduced oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory level, as evidenced by decreased malondialdehyde, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor a levels compared with the urban group. Serum cortisol levels were also lower than in the urban group. Notably, the concentration of plasma ET-1 was much lower in subjects exposed to the forest environment. The POMS evaluation showed that after exposure to the forest environment, subjects had lower scores in the negative subscales, and the score for vigor was increased. Conclusion Forest bathing is beneficial to human health, perhaps through preventive effects related to several pathological factors.

Additive Benefits of Twice Forest Bathing Trips in Elderly Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Chronic heart failure （CHF）, a clinical syndrome resulting from the consequences of various cardiovascular diseases （CVDs）, is increasingly becoming a global cause of morbidity and mortality. We had earlier demonstrated that a 4-day forest bathing trip can provide an adjunctive therapeutic influence on patients with CHF. To further investigate the duration of the impact and the optimal frequency of forest bathing trips in patients with CHF, we recruited those subjects who had experienced the first forest bathing trip again after 4 weeks and randomly categorized them into two groups, namely, the urban control group （city） and the forest bathing group （forest）. After a second 4-day forest bathing trip, we observed a steady decline in the brain natriuretic peptide levels, a biomarker of heart failure, and an attenuated inflammatory response as well as oxidative stress. Thus, this exploratory study demonstrated the additive benefits of twice forest bathing trips in elderly patients with CHF, which could further pave the way for analyzing the effects of such interventions in CVDs.

Medical Assessment on Forest Therapy Base in Zhejiang Province, China

According to the‘13^th Five-Year plan for forestry development’of State Forestry and Grassland Administration,500 forest therapy(also known as forest bathing or Shinrin-yoku in Japan)bases and 5–10 international cooperation demonstration bases will be set up in China,by 2020.So,it’s important to provide evidence about the benefits of specific forest environmental to human health,namely medical assessment on forest therapy base.