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Positive Effects on Emotional Stress and Sleep Quality of Forest Healing Program for Exhausted Medical Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Author

Listed:
  • Yunsoo Kim

    (Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Gangneung 25601, Korea)

  • Yoonhee Choi

    (The Convergence Institute of Healthcare and Medical Science, College of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Incheon 22711, Korea)

  • Hyeyun Kim

    (The Convergence Institute of Healthcare and Medical Science, College of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Incheon 22711, Korea
    Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Incheon 22711, Korea)

Abstract

This study targeted medical workers, who are currently being subjected to an excessive workload and emotional stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. Various treatment programs, such as a relaxation program to relieve stress, a walk in the forest, and woodworking were provided to the participants as forest healing therapies. We enrolled 13 medical workers (11 females, 2 males). Before and after forest healing therapy, stress and sleep-related questionnaires and levels of salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and melatonin were measured and compared. The improvement of the perceived stress scale and the decrease of DHEA-S, a stress index, showed statistically significant results. However, although this study was conducted with a small number of participants and has a limitation in that the therapy occurred over a short period of only 1 night and 2 days, the trend of supporting results remains positive. As such, the authors propose forest healing therapy as one intervention to relieve the job stress for this group of workers

Suggested Citation

  • Yunsoo Kim & Yoonhee Choi & Hyeyun Kim, 2022. "Positive Effects on Emotional Stress and Sleep Quality of Forest Healing Program for Exhausted Medical Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-10, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:3130-:d:765722
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hyeyun Kim & Jayoung Kim & Hyo Jin Ju & Bong Jin Jang & Tae Kyu Wang & Yeong In Kim, 2020. "Effect of Forest Therapy for Menopausal Women with Insomnia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-8, September.
    2. Hyeyun Kim & Yong Won Lee & Hyo Jin Ju & Bong Jin Jang & Yeong In Kim, 2019. "An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Forest Therapy on Sleep Quality in Patients with Gastrointestinal Tract Cancers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-7, July.
    3. Bum-Jin Park & Chang-Seob Shin & Won-Sop Shin & Chung-Yeub Chung & Si-Hyung Lee & Dong-Jun Kim & Youn-Hee Kim & Chang-Eun Park, 2020. "Effects of Forest Therapy on Health Promotion among Middle-Aged Women: Focusing on Physiological Indicators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Insook Lee & Heeseung Choi & Kyung-Sook Bang & Sungjae Kim & MinKyung Song & Buhyun Lee, 2017. "Effects of Forest Therapy on Depressive Symptoms among Adults: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, March.
    5. 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)

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