2016 Volume 44 Issue 2 Pages 142-147
This comparative study was designed to reveal the differences of physiological indicators (heart rate, blood pressure, cerebral blood flow by using a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), and the salivary amylase activity), caused by being on either grassy turf or soil ground. The purpose of this study was to obtain basic data to demonstrate the effect of playground turf on sport and education environments. These indicators were measured in a resting state for six subjects while they were watching the turf or soil surface after having blocked the visual modality by wearing an eye mask. Although there were no differences in the two conditions heart rate and blood pressure, most subjects showed lower values of salivary amylase activity for turf. It was observed that the mean value and standard deviation for the time on turf ground was (20.7±3.3 (KU/L)) as compared to the soil ground (30.6±9.3 (KU/L)), with near statistical significance (p=0.055). There was a tendency towards a higher value at the time of being on the turf ground in the comparison of brain blood flow by NIRS. This tendency was especially evident at the center (9 ch, p<0.05) and the left side (13 ch, p<0.10) of the prefrontal area in the integration values of the cerebral blood flow, where a significant difference was observed.
