Abstract
In this study, the physiological responses were compared in forested and urban environments. A total of 12 young males (age range: 21–27 years) participated in the present study. The experiments were executed in selected environments; viz., an urban site (Fukuoka-city, Fukuoka, Japan) and a Japanese cedar forest (Oguni-town, Kumamoto, Japan). They were instructed to walk in the morning (walking condition) and to sit on the chair in the afternoon (sitting condition), for 20 min in each site. The heart-rate (HR) and blood pressures were measured, and their saliva samples were collected for biochemical analysis, before and after the walking and the sitting. Before the walking, lower HR and higher cardiac vagal index (CVI) of heart rate variability (HRV) were obtained in the forest site compared to the urban site. Lower HR and higher CVI were obtained before and after the sitting in the forest site. In each condition, lower cortisol concentration was found in the forest site. Those findings suggest the favorable physiological effects of basking in the forest.
