Individual differences in the physiological effects of forest therapy based on Type A and Type B behavior patterns

Journal of Physiological Anthropology

Yoshifumi Miyazaki⁴  Takahide Kagawa³  Bum-Jin Park²  Juyoung Lee¹  Harumi Ikei⁴  Chorong Song⁴ 

[1] Korea Forest Service, Daejeon, Korea;Depart of Environment & Forest Resources, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea;Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Ibaraki, Japan;Center for Environment, Health and Field Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan

关键词: Kwansei Gakuin (KG) daily life questionnaire;    Type B behavior pattern;    Type A behavior pattern;    Individual difference;    Blood pressure;    Pulse rate;    Urban environment;    Forest bathing;   

Others  :  861638
DOI  :  10.1186/1880-6805-32-14

 received in 2013-03-05, accepted in 2013-09-24,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

In recent years, the physiological relaxation effects of natural environments have been widely exploited, and although individual differences in the effects of forest therapy are known, assessment methods have not been clearly established. This study used a classification based on Type A and Type B behavior patterns to explain individual differences in physiological responses to forest environments.

Methods

We performed physiological experiments in 44 forest and urban (controls) areas. In total, 485 male university students (age, 21.8 ± 1.6 years) participated in the study. The subjects were asked to visit forest or urban environments randomly and observe each landscape for 15 min. The subjects’ pulse rates and blood pressures were tested to evaluate their physiological responses. The Kwansei Gakuin daily life questionnaire was used to identify Type A and Type B behavior patterns in subjects.

Results

The pulse rate was significantly lower in the Type B group after exposure to forest areas than after exposure to urban areas, whereas no significant difference was observed in the Type A group. In addition, the pulse rate was significantly lower in the low scoring subjects in the Type B group, which was consistent with changes in their diastolic blood pressure.

Conclusions

These results suggest that individual differences in pulse rate and blood pressure in response to forest environments can be explained by Type A and Type B behavior patterns.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Song et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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