Cardiovascular

The Effects of Forest Therapy on the Blood Pressure and Salivary Cortisol Levels of Urban Residents: A Meta-Analysis.

Urban residents have a higher risk of hypertension and psychological stress than rural residents. Aside from medical interventions, understanding how to control hypertension and alleviate the stress of urban populations has become a public concern. As an alternative medical measure, forest therapy has shown the effects of normalizing blood pressure (BP) and reducing stress increasingly in recent literature, but this is still inconclusive. In order to systematically verify forest therapy’s effects on the BP and mental stress of urban residents, we conducted meta-analyses to assess the changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and salivary cortisol concentration (SCC; a stress biomarker) between the forest therapy group and urban control group. 21 studies on BP involving 2270 participants and 13 studies on SCC involving 1786 participants were included. Through the meta-analysis, the mean difference and confidence interval (CI) estimates indicated that forest therapy significantly reduced participants’ SBP, DBP and SCC as compared with urban control. After forest therapy, older participants

and those with higher baseline SBP levels had greater SBP-lowering effects. In subgroup analyses, we discovered that longer-term forest therapy programs (≥20 min) resulted in a greater reduction in BP and SCC than shorter-term forest therapy programs (<20 min). Additionally, seated viewing, walking, or multi-session programs in forests were observed to have similar effects on reducing BP and SCC. Overall, we conclude that forest therapy programs have beneficial therapeutic effects on urban residents’ physio-psychological health through lowering BP and relieving stress (reducing SCC). This finding provides solid evidence of the contribution of forest therapy to urban residents’ health and wellbeing.

Qiu Q, Yang L, He M, Gao W, Mar H, Li J, Wang G. The Effects of Forest Therapy on the Blood Pressure and Salivary Cortisol Levels of Urban Residents: A Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;20(1):458. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20010458.

Forest Bathing Always Makes Sense: Blood Pressure-Lowering and Immune System-Balancing Effects in Late Spring and Winter in Central Europe

Various formats of forest bathing have been receiving increasing attention owing to their perspectives in health promotion and the treatment of chronic lifestyle diseases. The majority of field studies are still being conducted in the Far Eastern region, and they often make psychological assessments mainly in the green season. In our pretest-posttest field experiment, twelve healthy, working-age volunteers participated in a 2-h leisurely forest walking program, first in the green season (May) and then in the winter season (January), in the Mecsek Hills, next to Pécs, Hungary.

Systolic blood pressure decreased after the trips both in late spring and in the winter. We detected the stimulation of NKbright cells and activation of all examined immune cell subsets in the green season. In the winter, a slight activating and an interesting balancing effect regarding TIM-3 could be observed considering our finding that basal (pretest) TIM-3 expression by NK cells was significantly lower in the winter. Our work expands the knowledge of and potential of forest medicine.

Peterfalvi A, Meggyes M, Makszin L, Farkas N, Miko E, Miseta A, Szereday L. Forest Bathing Always Makes Sense: Blood Pressure-Lowering and Immune System-Balancing Effects in Late Spring and Winter in Central Europe. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 20;18(4):2067. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18042067. PMID: 33672536; PMCID: PMC7923773.

Forest Bathing Is Better than Walking in Urban Park: Comparison of Cardiac and Vascular Function between Urban and Forest Parks.

Forest bathing is beneficial for human health. To investigate whether walking in forest or urban parks affects cardiovascular functions (CVFs), the present study was conducted in five forest trails in the Xitou Experimental Forest and in five urban parks in Taipei city. We recruited 25 adult volunteers for an observational pilot study in forest parks and urban parks. CVFs were assessed by measuring the arterial pressure waveform. The baseline and paired differences of systolic BP (SBP), central end SBP, heart rate, left ventricle (LV) dP/dt max and cardiac output in participants were lower before and after walking in a forest park than those in an urban park. In addition, the systemic vascular compliance and brachial artery compliance of those who walked in a forest park were significantly higher compared with those in an urban park. This study provides evidence of the potential beneficial effects of walking exercise in forest parks on CVFs.

Tsao TM, Hwang JS, Lin ST, Wu C, Tsai MJ, Su TC. Forest Bathing Is Better than Walking in Urban Park: Comparison of Cardiac and Vascular Function between Urban and Forest Parks. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 15;19(6):3451. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063451. PMID: 35329139; PMCID: PMC8949865.

Effects of forest bathing on pre-hypertensive and hypertensive adults: a review of the literature.

The aim in this literature review was to explore the physiologically and psychologically therapeutic benefits of forest bathing on adults suffering from pre-hypertension or hypertension, and to identify the type, duration, and frequency of an effective forest bathing intervention in the management of pre-hypertension and hypertension, so as to provide directions for future interventions or research. Of the 364 articles that were identified, 14 met the criteria for inclusion in this review. The synthesis of the findings in the included studies revealed that forest bathing interventions were effective at reducing blood pressure, lowering pulse rate, increasing the power of heart rate variability (HRV), improving cardiac-pulmonary parameters, and metabolic function, inducing a positive mood, reducing anxiety levels, and improving the quality of life of pre-hypertensive or hypertensive participants. Forest walking and forest therapy programs were the two most effective forest bathing interventions. Studies reported that practicing a single forest walking or forest therapy program can produce short-term physiological and psychological benefits.

It is concluded that forest bathing, particularly forest walking and therapy, has physiologically and psychologically relaxing effects on middle-aged and elderly people with pre-hypertension and hypertension.

Yau KK, Loke AY. Effects of forest bathing on pre-hypertensive and hypertensive adults: a review of the literature. Environ Health Prev Med. 2020 Jun 22;25(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s12199-020-00856-7. PMID: 32571202; PMCID: PMC7310560.