Content area
Full Text
Received Jun 10, 2017; Revised Nov 23, 2017; Accepted Jan 2, 2018
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
1. Introduction
Stress is a main public health concern that is associated with psychological health problems, cardiovascular problems, burnout syndrome, and neurological and immunological diseases [1]. In modern urban societies, long-term stress and inadequate recovery from stress are documented as an increasing problem and have long-term effects on health [2, 3]. Additionally, psychosocial issues play vital roles in the development of musculoskeletal pain. Existing healthcare practices, however, are expensive and often emphasize treating stress-related illnesses, instead of stopping them. These findings indicate that stress control is a major factor in maintaining good health and alleviating stress-related disease in urban societies. Researchers are increasingly interested in whether nature may support both the alleviation of illnesses that are facilitated by mental processes, such as stress, and the cure of stress-related diseases, such as depression and fatigue. Many studies from Asia, Europe, and North America have reported that compared with city surroundings, natural surroundings improve human concentration and performance [4–6] as well as mood states [7, 8]. Furthermore, widespread observations suggest that natural surroundings can boost human health [9]. Live contact with plants and trees in urban parks or gardens has been shown to relax and calm people [10–13]. In Japan, “Shinrin-yoku,” or forest bathing, is defined as entering a forest environment. The practice is currently receiving greater attention as a means of relaxation and stress reduction. In “Shinrin-yoku” activities performed in forest environments are used to increase psychophysiological health [14]. Furthermore, walking, the most common physical activity, is becoming increasingly important in the prevention of diseases [15–17]. A recent study demonstrated that forest walking can increase self-rated health issues and tends to minimize psychological stress in healthy individuals [18]. Additionally, positive mental benefits can be observed with forest walking in individuals with major depressive symptoms [19]. We have reported the psychophysiological relaxation effects of “forest bathing” from the perspective of brain activity and emotions. In previous studies, psychological responses have been recorded using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) [20, 21]; however, the semantic differential...