TY - JOUR
AU - Hiromi Suenaga
AU - Kanako Murakami
AU - Nozomi Murata
AU - Syoriki Nishikawa
AU - Masae Tsutsumi
AU - Hiroshi Nogaki
AB - Spending time in nature might positively influence mental health by inducing a relaxed state. Recently, gardens have been created on hospital rooftops in Japan to help inpatients recover from various physical and mental aliments. However, there is little evidence regarding any positive physiological effects of artificial gardens designed for health. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological and cardiovascular responses incited by artificial natural environments. Japanese university students (n = 38) participated in a one-group pretest post-test experiment conducted at the Yamaguchi Flower Expo in Japan in October 2018, designed to assess whether exposure to four environments (forest, flowers, ocean, and artificial garden for health) influenced heart rate variability measures. After pretesting to determine baseline measurements, participants completed a circuit through the four natural environments. Following circuit completion, post-testing determined that the low frequency/high frequency ratio was significantly lower in the overall sample and the four areas had similar influences on heart rate variability. Findings suggest that exposure to nature by walking through natural areas and in rooftop artificial gardens might enhance the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
BT - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
DA - 12/2020
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17249465
DP - DOI.org (Crossref)
IS - 24
LA - en
N2 - Spending time in nature might positively influence mental health by inducing a relaxed state. Recently, gardens have been created on hospital rooftops in Japan to help inpatients recover from various physical and mental aliments. However, there is little evidence regarding any positive physiological effects of artificial gardens designed for health. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological and cardiovascular responses incited by artificial natural environments. Japanese university students (n = 38) participated in a one-group pretest post-test experiment conducted at the Yamaguchi Flower Expo in Japan in October 2018, designed to assess whether exposure to four environments (forest, flowers, ocean, and artificial garden for health) influenced heart rate variability measures. After pretesting to determine baseline measurements, participants completed a circuit through the four natural environments. Following circuit completion, post-testing determined that the low frequency/high frequency ratio was significantly lower in the overall sample and the four areas had similar influences on heart rate variability. Findings suggest that exposure to nature by walking through natural areas and in rooftop artificial gardens might enhance the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
PY - 2020
SN - 1660-4601
SP - 9465
ST - IJERPH
T2 - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
TI - The Effects of an Artificial Garden on Heart Rate Variability among Healthy Young Japanese Adults
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9465
VL - 17
Y2 - 2021/05/07/07:11:07
ER -