Stress Recovery of Campus Street Trees as Visual Stimuli on Graduate Students in Autumn
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Green Campus Landscapes and Health
1.2. Street Trees and Health
1.3. Overview of the Study
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. The Participants
2.2. The Environmental Settings
2.3. Stress Induction
2.4. Measures of Stress Levels
2.4.1. Physiological Indicators
2.4.2. Psychological Indicators
2.5. The Procedure
- Preparation: The experiment was performed individually. After arriving in the lab, the participant was told the procedure and guided to wear a heart rate monitor and an EEG headband, while sitting in a chair.
- Baseline: The participant had two minutes to adjust the devices. Then, he or she was asked to relax for three minutes while recording R-R intervals and EEG.
- Stress stage: The participant took the TSST to induce acute stress for six minutes, and then filled in the STAI-S.
- Recovery stage: The participant was randomly assigned to view one of the five scenes for six minutes while sitting in the chair. Through the VR glasses, the participant was immersed in the environment of a 360-degree photo by simply moving their head to explore the surroundings. Then, they also did both the STAI-S and the PRS questionnaires.
2.6. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Tests for the Baseline Levels and the Validity of the Stressor
3.2. Tests for Physiological Effects of Different Scenes
3.2.1. R-R Interval
3.2.2. EEG
3.3. Tests for Psychological Effects of Different Scenes
3.3.1. State Anxiety
3.3.2. Restorativeness
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Street Trees Species | Morphological Characteristics |
---|---|
Sophora japonica | A deciduous tree, up to 25 m, trunk straight, crown wide, bark gray-brown and longitudinally striate; pinnately compound, dark green leaves in summer and yellow withered in late autumn. |
Ginkgo biloba | A deciduous tree, up to 20 m, trunk straight, crown conical, bark grayish brown and longitudinally fissured; fan-shaped, pale green leaves in summer and golden yellow in autumn. |
Platanus acerifolia | A deciduous tree, up to 25 m, trunk straight, crown broadly ovoid, smooth bark light gray and mottled white; broadly ovate, (3 or) 5-lobed, dark green leaves in summer and yellow-brown in autumn. |
Koelreuteria paniculata | A deciduous tree, up to 20 m, crown broad and dome-shaped, bark grayish brown to black; pinnately compound, bright green leaves in summer and yellow in autumn; the fruit is orange to pink and reddish-brown, papery seed capsules which somewhat resemble Chinese lanterns in autumn. |
Brainwaves | Frequencies (Hz) | Brain State |
---|---|---|
Low alpha | 8–10 | A sense of security to the surrounding environment, slack, unguarded |
High alpha | 10–12 | No stress and anxiety, relaxed but wakeful |
Low beta | 12–20 | Focused on mental activity |
High beta | 20–30 | Excited, alert, attentive |
Parameter | Pre | Post | t | p | Cohen’s d |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
R-R interval | 0.828 ± 0.012 | 0.712 ± 0.010 | 15.161 | 0.000 ** | 1.029 |
Low alpha | 26,078.684 ± 903.091 | 21,963.362 ± 1488.589 | 2.718 | 0.008 ** | 0.345 |
High alpha | 30,033.950 ± 2079.774 | 19,874.067 ± 666.362 | 4.850 | 0.000 ** | 0.679 |
Low beta | 9148.347 ± 684.498 | 15,835.987 ± 542.500 | −10.194 | 0.000 ** | 1.117 |
High beta | 7727.177 ± 508.102 | 14,721.790 ± 565.273 | −11.479 | 0.000 ** | 1.342 |
Scenes | Mean Increase | SEM | 95% C.I. | t | p | Cohen’s d | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lower | Upper | ||||||
Sophora japonica | 0.090 | 0.017 | 0.055 | 0.126 | 5.293 | 0.000 ** | 0.918 |
Ginkgo biloba | 0.074 | 0.016 | 0.041 | 0.107 | 4.715 | 0.000 ** | 0.696 |
Platanus acerifolia | 0.051 | 0.018 | 0.017 | 0.085 | 3.380 | 0.007 ** | 0.627 |
Koelreuteria paniculata | 0.044 | 0.017 | 0.007 | 0.081 | 2.550 | 0.022 * | 0.407 |
Indoor environment | 0.015 | 0.010 | −0.005 | 0.035 | 1.550 | 0.136 | 0.150 |
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Guo, L.-N.; Zhao, R.-L.; Ren, A.-H.; Niu, L.-X.; Zhang, Y.-L. Stress Recovery of Campus Street Trees as Visual Stimuli on Graduate Students in Autumn. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 148. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010148
Guo L-N, Zhao R-L, Ren A-H, Niu L-X, Zhang Y-L. Stress Recovery of Campus Street Trees as Visual Stimuli on Graduate Students in Autumn. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(1):148. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010148
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuo, Li-Na, Ren-Lin Zhao, Ai-Hua Ren, Li-Xin Niu, and Yan-Long Zhang. 2020. "Stress Recovery of Campus Street Trees as Visual Stimuli on Graduate Students in Autumn" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 1: 148. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010148