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 wa...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.展开更多
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 demons...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.展开更多
Forest bathing trip is a short, leisurely visit to forest. In this study we determined the health effects of forest bathing trip on elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）. The patients we...Forest bathing trip is a short, leisurely visit to forest. In this study we determined the health effects of forest bathing trip on elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. One group was sent to forest, and the other was sent to an urban area as control. Flow cytometry, ELISA, and profile of mood states （POMS） evaluation were performed. In the forest group,展开更多
Japan has made remarkable achievements in the study and development of forest tourism for health care reason. Through the comprehensive investigation into the development of forest-bathing field in Japan, this paper s...Japan has made remarkable achievements in the study and development of forest tourism for health care reason. Through the comprehensive investigation into the development of forest-bathing field in Japan, this paper studied the forest tourism for health care factor in Japan and concluded the evaluation standard and construction of forest-bathing field, as well as personnel training. In the end, some suggestions were proposed for the study and development of forest tourism for health care factor in Asia.展开更多
基金supported by the project "Modern forestry-exploitation and utilization of therapeutic forest" commissioned by the Forestry Department of Zhejiang Provincefunds from the Ministry of Health of P.R.China (WKJ2011-2-014)+1 种基金the Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province Program (2008C33046)Zhejiang Provincial key disciplinary fields of Geriatrics Program (2007ZB006 and 2008ZJ004)
文摘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.
基金supported by funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China[31670701&81771520]the Science Technology Department of Zhejiang Province[2014C33130&2016C34002]+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province[Y15H050018&LY17C070004]the Health Bureau of Zhejiang Province[2015DTA001&2016KYB005]
文摘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.
基金supported by funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31301139&31201040)funds from Science Technology Department of Zhejiang Province(2012C24005&2014C33130)+2 种基金Health Bureau of Zhejiang Province(11-CX01&2013ZDA002)Zhejiang Provincial Key Disciplinary Fields of Geriatrics Program
文摘Forest bathing trip is a short, leisurely visit to forest. In this study we determined the health effects of forest bathing trip on elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. One group was sent to forest, and the other was sent to an urban area as control. Flow cytometry, ELISA, and profile of mood states （POMS） evaluation were performed. In the forest group,
基金Supported by Hunan Normal University Doctor Startup Scientific Research Project(No. 2012BQ06)
文摘Japan has made remarkable achievements in the study and development of forest tourism for health care reason. Through the comprehensive investigation into the development of forest-bathing field in Japan, this paper studied the forest tourism for health care factor in Japan and concluded the evaluation standard and construction of forest-bathing field, as well as personnel training. In the end, some suggestions were proposed for the study and development of forest tourism for health care factor in Asia.
