IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i8p931-d108784.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Population-Based Study on the Effect of a Forest Environment on Salivary Cortisol Concentration

Author

Listed:
  • Hiromitsu Kobayashi

    (Department of Nursing, Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University, 1-1 Gakuendai, Kahoku, Ishikawa 929-1210, Japan)

  • Chorong Song

    (Center for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences, Chiba University, 6-2-1 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan)

  • Harumi Ikei

    (Center for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences, Chiba University, 6-2-1 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan
    Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan)

  • Bum-Jin Park

    (Department of Environment and Forest Resources, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Korea)

  • Juyoung Lee

    (Department of Landscape Architecture, Hankyong National University, 327 Jungang-ro, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do 17579, Korea)

  • Takahide Kagawa

    (Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan)

  • Yoshifumi Miyazaki

    (Center for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences, Chiba University, 6-2-1 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a forest environment on salivary cortisol concentration, particularly on the characteristics of its distribution. The participants were 348 young male subjects. The experimental sites were 34 forests and 34 urban areas across Japan. The subjects viewed the landscape (forest or urban environment) for a period of 15 min while sitting in a chair. Saliva was sampled from the participants at the end of this 15-min period and then analyzed for cortisol concentration. Differences in the skewness and kurtosis of the distributions between the two environments were tested by performing a permutation test. The cortisol concentrations exhibited larger skewness (0.76) and kurtosis (3.23) in a forest environment than in an urban environment (skewness = 0.49; kurtosis = 2.47), and these differences were statistically significant. The cortisol distribution exhibited a more peaked and longer right-tailed curve in a forest environment than in an urban environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiromitsu Kobayashi & Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Bum-Jin Park & Juyoung Lee & Takahide Kagawa & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2017. "Population-Based Study on the Effect of a Forest Environment on Salivary Cortisol Concentration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-9, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:8:p:931-:d:108784
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/8/931/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/8/931/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phipson Belinda & Smyth Gordon K, 2010. "Permutation P-values Should Never Be Zero: Calculating Exact P-values When Permutations Are Randomly Drawn," Statistical Applications in Genetics and Molecular Biology, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, October.
    2. Hiroko Ochiai & Harumi Ikei & Chorong Song & Maiko Kobayashi & Takashi Miura & Takahide Kagawa & Qing Li & Shigeyoshi Kumeda & Michiko Imai & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2015. "Physiological and Psychological Effects of a Forest Therapy Program on Middle-Aged Females," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Kim, Tae-Hwan & White, Halbert, 2004. "On more robust estimation of skewness and kurtosis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 56-73, March.
    4. Juyoung Lee & Bum-Jin Park & Tatsuro Ohira & Takahide Kagawa & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2015. "Acute Effects of Exposure to a Traditional Rural Environment on Urban Dwellers: A Crossover Field Study in Terraced Farmland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-20, February.
    5. Kurt Beil & Douglas Hanes, 2013. "The Influence of Urban Natural and Built Environments on Physiological and Psychological Measures of Stress— A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Schwertman, Neil C. & Owens, Margaret Ann & Adnan, Robiah, 2004. "A simple more general boxplot method for identifying outliers," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 165-174, August.
    7. Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2016. "Physiological Effects of Nature Therapy: A Review of the Research in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Quan Qiu & Ling Yang & Mei He & Wen Gao & Harrison Mar & Jiyue Li & Guangyu Wang, 2022. "The Effects of Forest Therapy on the Blood Pressure and Salivary Cortisol Levels of Urban Residents: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Yuqian Wang & Huahong Qu & Tong Bai & Qibing Chen & Xi Li & Zhenghua Luo & Bingyang Lv & Mingyan Jiang, 2021. "Effects of Variations in Color and Organ of Color Expression in Urban Ornamental Bamboo Landscapes on the Physiological and Psychological Responses of College Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Erica R. Timko Olson & Margaret M. Hansen & Amber Vermeesch, 2020. "Mindfulness and Shinrin-Yoku: Potential for Physiological and Psychological Interventions during Uncertain Times," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Takahide Kagawa & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2019. "Effects of Walking in a Forest on Young Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-12, January.
    5. Sus Sola Corazon & Ulrik Sidenius & Dorthe Varning Poulsen & Marie Christoffersen Gramkow & Ulrika Karlsson Stigsdotter, 2019. "Psycho-Physiological Stress Recovery in Outdoor Nature-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of the Past Eight Years of Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-21, May.
    6. Don-Gak Lee & Mi-Mi Lee & Young-Mi Jeong & Jin-Gun Kim & Yung-Kyoon Yoon & Won-Sop Shin, 2021. "Influence of Forest Visitors’ Perceived Restorativeness on Social–Psychological Stress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-14, June.
    7. Dannie Fu & Natalia Incio Serra & Hubert Mansion & Emilia Tamko Mansion & Stefanie Blain-Moraes, 2022. "Assessing the Effects of Nature on Physiological States Using Wearable Technologies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-16, January.
    8. Albert Bach Pagès & Josep Peñuelas & Jana Clarà & Joan Llusià & Ferran Campillo i López & Roser Maneja, 2020. "How Should Forests Be Characterized in Regard to Human Health? Evidence from Existing Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-15, February.
    9. Megan E. Gerdes & Lucy A. Aistis & Naomi A. Sachs & Marcus Williams & Jennifer D. Roberts & Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein, 2022. "Reducing Anxiety with Nature and Gardening (RANG): Evaluating the Impacts of Gardening and Outdoor Activities on Anxiety among U.S. Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-20, April.
    10. Ji-Eun Baek & Jin-Hwa Jung & Ho-Jin Shin & Sung-Hyeon Kim & Si-Yoon Sung & Su-Jin Park & Suk-Chan Hahm & Hwi-Young Cho & Min-Goo Lee, 2022. "Effects of Forest Healing Anti-Aging Program on Psychological, Physiological, and Physical Health of Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-17, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hiromitsu Kobayashi & Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Bum-Jin Park & Takahide Kagawa & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2017. "Diurnal Changes in Distribution Characteristics of Salivary Cortisol and Immunoglobulin A Concentrations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-9, August.
    2. Hyunju Jo & Chorong Song & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2019. "Physiological Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Systematic Review of Indoor Experiments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-23, November.
    3. Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo & Nicolas Escoffier & Jane Chan & Tan Puay Yok, 2018. "Window View and the Brain: Effects of Floor Level and Green Cover on the Alpha and Beta Rhythms in a Passive Exposure EEG Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-14, October.
    4. Hiroko Ochiai & Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Michiko Imai & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2017. "Effects of Visual Stimulation with Bonsai Trees on Adult Male Patients with Spinal Cord Injury," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-10, September.
    5. Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan, 2016. "Transforming Life: A Broad View of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Concept from an Ecological Justice Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-44, November.
    6. Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Takahide Kagawa & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2019. "Effects of Walking in a Forest on Young Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-12, January.
    7. Margaret M. Hansen & Reo Jones & Kirsten Tocchini, 2017. "Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy: A State-of-the-Art Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-48, July.
    8. Xuanyi Wang & Shulin Chen, 2023. "The Moderating Effects of Gender and Dispositional Mindful Observation on the Relationship between Nature Contact and Psychological Distress: A Cross-Sectional Study in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-13, November.
    9. Agnes Peterfalvi & Matyas Meggyes & Lilla Makszin & Nelli Farkas & Eva Miko & Attila Miseta & Laszlo Szereday, 2021. "Forest Bathing Always Makes Sense: Blood Pressure-Lowering and Immune System-Balancing Effects in Late Spring and Winter in Central Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-19, February.
    10. Gianluca Grilli & Sandro Sacchelli, 2020. "Health Benefits Derived from Forest: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-11, August.
    11. Prita Indah Pratiwi & Qiongying Xiang & Katsunori Furuya, 2019. "Physiological and Psychological Effects of Viewing Urban Parks in Different Seasons in Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-14, November.
    12. Albert Bach Pagès & Josep Peñuelas & Jana Clarà & Joan Llusià & Ferran Campillo i López & Roser Maneja, 2020. "How Should Forests Be Characterized in Regard to Human Health? Evidence from Existing Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-15, February.
    13. Francesco Meneguzzo & Lorenzo Albanese & Giorgio Bartolini & Federica Zabini, 2019. "Temporal and Spatial Variability of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Forest Atmosphere," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-24, December.
    14. Hanbin Shen & Xuecong He & Jing He & Danming Li & Mingjie Liang & Xubin Xie, 2024. "Back to the Village: Assessing the Effects of Naturalness, Landscape Types, and Landscape Elements on the Restorative Potential of Rural Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-30, June.
    15. Emilia Janeczko & Krzysztof Czyżyk & Małgorzata Woźnicka & Tomasz Dudek & Jitka Fialova & Natalia Korcz, 2024. "The Importance of Forest Management in Psychological Restoration: Exploring the Effects of Landscape Change in a Suburban Forest," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-13, September.
    16. Jaewoo Kang & Jeongho Choi & Kyoungmin Lee, 2024. "Development of an Evaluation Index for Forest Therapy Environments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-19, January.
    17. Norimasa Takayama & Takeshi Morikawa & Kazuko Koga & Yoichi Miyazaki & Kenichi Harada & Keiko Fukumoto & Yuji Tsujiki, 2022. "Exploring the Physiological and Psychological Effects of Digital Shinrin-Yoku and Its Characteristics as a Restorative Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, January.
    18. Per Hjertstrand & Pehr-Johan Norbäck & Lars Persson, 2020. "Skill Formation, Temporary Disadvantage and Elite Education," CESifo Working Paper Series 8612, CESifo.
    19. Harvey, A., 2008. "Dynamic distributions and changing copulas," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0839, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    20. Tamsin Thomas & James Baker & Debbie Massey & Daniel D’Appio & Christina Aggar, 2020. "Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial of Social Prescribing of Forest Therapy for Quality of Life and Biopsychosocial Wellbeing in Community-Living Australian Adults with Mental Illness: Protocol," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-14, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:8:p:931-:d:108784. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.