In recent times, attention has been focused on the role of urban green spaces in promoting human health and well-being. However, there is a lack of evidence-based research on the physiological effects of walking in urban green areas. This study aimed to clarify the physiological and psychological effects of walking in urban parks during fall. Twenty-three males (mean age 22.3 ± 1.2 years) were instructed to walk predetermined 15-min courses in an urban park and in a nearby city area (control). Heart rate and heart rate variability were measured to assess physiological responses, and the semantic differential method, Profile of Mood States, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to measure psychological responses. We observed that walking in an urban park resulted in a significantly lower heart rate, higher parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity than walking through the city area. In subjective evaluations, participants were more “comfortable,” “natural,” “relaxed,” and “vigorous” after a walk in the urban park. Furthermore, they exhibited significantly lower levels of negative emotions and anxiety. These findings provide scientific evidence for the physiological and psychological relaxation effects of walking in urban parks during fall.

It is widely believed that contact with the natural environment can improve physical and mental health. Urban green spaces may provide city residents with these benefits; however, there is a lack of empirical field research on the health benefits of urban parks.

Background: Interaction with nature has a relaxing effect on humans. Increasing attention has been focused on the therapeutic effects of urban green space; however, there is a lack of evidence-based field research. This study provided scientific evidence supporting the physiological and psychological effects of walking on young males in urban parks in winter. Findings: Subjects (13 males aged 22.5 ± 3.1 years) were instructed to walk predetermined 15-minute courses in an urban park (test) and in the city area (control). Heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured to assess physiological responses. The semantic differential (SD) method, Profile of Mood States (POMS), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to determine psychological responses. Heart rate was significantly lower and the natural logarithm of the high frequency component of HRV was significantly higher when walking through the urban park than through the city area. The results of three questionnaires indicated that walking in the urban park improved mood and decreased negative feelings and anxiety. Conclusions: Physiological and psychological data from this field experiment provide important scientific evidence regarding the health benefits of walking in an urban park. The results support the premise that walking in an urban park has relaxing effects even in winter.

Perilla is a useful pharmaceutical and food product and is empirically consumed by humans. However, its properties have not been evaluated extensively. In this review, we summarize the progress made in research, focusing on the bioactivities of perilla. There are manyin vitroand animal studies on the cytostatic activity and antiallergic effects, respectively, of perilla and its constituents. However, its influence on humans remains unclear. Hence, investigating and clarifying the physiological effects of perilla and its constituents on humans are imperative in the future to adhere to the ideals of evidence-based medicine.

Objective: To clarify the effect of olfactory stimulation by fresh rose flowers, which exude a strong fragrance, on heart rate variability. Settings: A chamber with an artificial climate maintained at 25°C with 50% relative humidity and 230 lux illumination at the Center for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences, Chiba University, Japan. Participants: Nineteen female university and graduate students (mean age, 21.6±1.5 years; age range, 19.0–26.0 years). Interventions: Fresh rose flowers as an olfactory stimulant, with air as a control. Outcome measures: Heart rate variability and subjective evaluations. The power levels of the high-frequency (HF) (0.15–0.40 Hz) and low-frequency (LF) (0.04–0.15 Hz) components of heart rate variability were calculated by the maximum-entropy method. The HF power was considered to reflect parasympathetic nervous activity. The LF/HF power ratio was determined to reflect the sympathetic nervous activity. A modified semantic differential method was used to perform subjective evaluations. Results: Fresh rose flowers induced (1) a significant increase in parasympathetic nervous activities and (2) an increase in “comfortable” and “natural” feelings. Conclusion: The findings indicated that olfactory stimulation by fresh rose flowers induced physiological and psychological relaxation.