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Nature and Forest Therapy: The Effect on Physical and Mental...
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Nature and Forest Therapy: The Effect on Physical and Mental Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 9279

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Xiaoqing Cheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: health rehabilitation and recreation in forests; ecosystem services; forest ecosystem management; forest carbon cycle

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urbanization and modern lifestyle changes have reduced the chance for human contact with nature. Forests and other natural environments may be incorporated into public health systems and policies to promote physical and mental health and feelings of well-being. Forest therapy has many health benefits, including enhanced immune function, improved cardiovascular and respiratory system health, restored attention and reduced stress and depression. This Special Issue plans to outline the latest progress in the field of nature and forest therapy, as well as the effects of forests and other natural environments on human health. This Special Issue aims at providing some selected contributions progressing the relationship between environmental health and human health. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Forest therapy sciences and services;
  • Physical and mental health benefits of exposure to nature;
  • Planning physical activities in forests or natural environments for public health;
  • Forest therapy, health policies, practices, economics and cultures of forests for public health;
  • Green-space planning and design for human activity;
  • Forest medicine for health promotion.

Dr. Xiaoqing Cheng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest therapy
  • natural therapy
  • physical and mental health
  • forest environments

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 8549 KiB  
Article
How Do Repeated Viewings in Forest Landscapes Influence Young People’s Visual Behaviors and Cognitive Evaluations?
by Mengyun Wu, Yu Gao, Zhi Zhang, Bo Zhang, Huan Meng, Weikang Zhang and Tong Zhang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 4753; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064753 - 08 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1230
Abstract
Background: With the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, it has gradually become normal to periodically visit and enjoy forest landscape resources in the suburbs of cities. For designers and managers of forest landscapes, exploring change in the visual behaviors and cognitive evaluations of [...] Read more.
Background: With the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, it has gradually become normal to periodically visit and enjoy forest landscape resources in the suburbs of cities. For designers and managers of forest landscapes, exploring change in the visual behaviors and cognitive evaluations of people who repeatedly view forest landscapes and the characteristics of this change will aid the design and sustainable utilization of forest landscape resources in the suburbs of cities. Purpose: From the perspective of users’ preferences for forest landscape space, this study explored the changes in visual behavior characteristics and psychological preference characteristics for individuals who repeatedly view forest landscapes and their drivers under different preferences. Methods: This study collected data from 52 graduate and undergraduate students. We used a difference test to compare the differences in the visual behavior coincidence degree and the changes in psychological evaluations; a descriptive statistical analysis to explore young peoples’ likes and dislikes of landscape elements; and Spearman correlation analysis to explore the correlation between the psychological evaluations and visual behaviors. Main results: 1. At the second viewing, the participants’ regression behavior tended to decrease for various spaces, and they were more inclined to view areas that they had not viewed before. In addition, at the second viewing, the degree of fixation behavior coincidence was generally low, and there were obvious differences across spaces; 2. The participants’ feature evaluations and comprehensive evaluations for landscapes did not change significantly with their increased familiarity with the spaces; 3. There was a significant positive correlation between the participants’ psychological evaluations of landscape stimuli and the degree of fixation coincidence when viewing the spaces, among which the rate of distant clarity and the degree of fixation behavior coincidence were significantly and positively correlated. Meanwhile, at the second viewing, the number of favorite elements in the lookout space, which belongs to high-preference spaces, noticeably increased. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Forest Therapy: The Effect on Physical and Mental Health)
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24 pages, 11007 KiB  
Article
How Does the Experience of Forest Recreation Spaces in Different Seasons Affect the Physical and Mental Recovery of Users?
by Rui Chen, Yu Gao, Ruixin Zhang, Zhi Zhang, Weikang Zhang, Huan Meng and Tong Zhang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2357; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032357 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2070
Abstract
Background: In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the recovery effect of the forest environment on physical and mental health. Therefore, providing users with a high-quality forest landscape space is a very important research topic for forest landscape designers and forest [...] Read more.
Background: In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the recovery effect of the forest environment on physical and mental health. Therefore, providing users with a high-quality forest landscape space is a very important research topic for forest landscape designers and forest resource managers. Main purpose: From the perspective of different seasons, this study explores the differences in landscape perceptions and physical and mental recovery of users when they experience different forest recreation spaces and the interactions between them. Methods: First, this study used virtual reality video experience and questionnaires for participants. Then, the paired-samples t test, one-way ANOVA and the independent-samples t test were used for statistical analysis. Finally, we also used structural equation models to analyze the relationship between landscape perception and recovery. Main results: (1) The restoration effect and perception of forest recreation spaces on people are influenced by space types and seasonal factors. (2) People’s restoration from forest environments is a gradual process from spatial cognition to emotional response. (3) The perception of the natural attributes and form of the recreation space plays a key role in the restorative effect of the environment to people, while the natural form is more important in spring than autumn. Based on the above conclusions, we suggest that the characteristic factors of the landscape environment and their different restoration effects for users in different dimensions should be considered when planning forest recreation space. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Forest Therapy: The Effect on Physical and Mental Health)
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13 pages, 465 KiB  
Article
How Do Nature-Based Activities Benefit Essential Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic? The Mediating Effect of Nature Connectedness
by Xiang Huang, Liangyi Luo, Xinyi Li, Yingxin Lin, Zhiqiang Chen and Chen Jin
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16501; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416501 - 08 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1279
Abstract
Although many studies have suggested that nature-based activities have a healing effect on human beings, there is little research on the underlying mechanism. This study investigated the role of nature connectedness in the relationship between the perception of nature and individuals’ physical and [...] Read more.
Although many studies have suggested that nature-based activities have a healing effect on human beings, there is little research on the underlying mechanism. This study investigated the role of nature connectedness in the relationship between the perception of nature and individuals’ physical and psychological health. We recruited essential workers who participated in disease prevention and control during the COVID-19 pandemic and their family members as the subjects for this study. The stress levels experienced by this group made them an ideal sample. The results of a survey-based study showed that nature-based activities had a positive effect on alleviating state anxiety levels. The results also showed that nature-based activities affected perceived restoration via the feeling of nature connectedness. This study examined the healing effect of nature-based activities that stimulate the five senses and nature connectedness and explored the potential of nature-based treatments for people experiencing high levels of stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Forest Therapy: The Effect on Physical and Mental Health)
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16 pages, 388 KiB  
Article
Rationale, Feasibility, and Acceptability of the Meeting in Nature Together (MINT) Program: A Novel Nature-Based Social Intervention for Loneliness Reduction with Teen Parents and Their Peers
by Ashby Lavelle Sachs, Eva Coringrato, Nadav Sprague, Angela Turbyfill, Sarah Tillema and Jill Litt
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 11059; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711059 - 04 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3804
Abstract
Recently, there has been an increase in feelings of loneliness and mental health conditions among adolescents. Within this population, parenting teens are at an increased risk for these conditions. Outdoor experiences are shown to be an antidote to loneliness and a way to [...] Read more.
Recently, there has been an increase in feelings of loneliness and mental health conditions among adolescents. Within this population, parenting teens are at an increased risk for these conditions. Outdoor experiences are shown to be an antidote to loneliness and a way to promote social connectedness by amplifying the processes for supporting social relationships. In 2020–2021, we piloted the 8-week Meeting in Nature Together program (MINT) at a charter school for pregnant and parenting teenagers in Colorado, USA. MINT aimed to promote relatedness and nature connection for students ages 14 to 19. MINT included online and in-person group meetings with educational content, creative activities, discussion, park excursions, mindfulness activities, journaling, and nature photography. Here, we ask, can a school-level nature-based social intervention reduce loneliness among pregnant and parenting teens by promoting and sustaining social connections? How acceptable is MINT to participants? Methods included audiovisual recording transcriptions, surveys, and observation field notes. Results suggest that MINT fostered social connections through a tailored nature-based intervention delivered to a typically isolated community in culturally sensitive, developmentally appropriate ways. MINT proved feasible and effective as participants reported high levels of satisfaction and interest in continuing to engage in activities promoted in MINT. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Forest Therapy: The Effect on Physical and Mental Health)
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