Zhejiang Hospital & Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab of Geriatrics, Hangzhou 310013, China.
Biomed Environ Sci. 2012 Jun;25(3):317-24. doi: 10.3967/0895-3988.2012.03.010.
To investigate the effects of short-term forest bathing on human health.
Twenty healthy male university students participated as subjects and were randomly divided into two groups of 10. One group was sent on a two-night trip to a broad-leaved evergreen forest, and the other was sent to a city area. Serum cytokine levels reflecting inflammatory and stress response, indicators reflecting oxidative stress, the distribution of leukocyte subsets, and plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentrations were measured before and after the experiment to evaluate the positive health effects of forest environments. A profile of mood states (POMS) evaluation was used to assess changes in mood states.
No significant differences in the baseline values of the indicators were observed between the two groups before the experiment. Subjects exposed to the forest environment showed reduced oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory level, as evidenced by decreased malondialdehyde, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor a levels compared with the urban group. Serum cortisol levels were also lower than in the urban group. Notably, the concentration of plasma ET-1 was much lower in subjects exposed to the forest environment. The POMS evaluation showed that after exposure to the forest environment, subjects had lower scores in the negative subscales, and the score for vigor was increased.
Forest bathing is beneficial to human health, perhaps through preventive effects related to several pathological factors.
探讨短期森林浴对人体健康的影响。
20 名健康男性大学生作为研究对象，随机分为两组，每组 10 人。一组被派往阔叶常绿森林进行为期两晚的旅行，另一组被派往城市地区。实验前后测量血清细胞因子水平（反映炎症和应激反应）、氧化应激指标、白细胞亚群分布和血浆内皮素-1（ET-1）浓度，以评估森林环境对健康的积极影响。采用心境状态量表（POMS）评估评估情绪状态的变化。
实验前两组各项指标的基线值无显著差异。与城市组相比，暴露于森林环境的受试者表现出氧化应激和促炎水平降低，表现为丙二醛、白细胞介素-6 和肿瘤坏死因子 a 水平降低。血清皮质醇水平也低于城市组。值得注意的是，暴露于森林环境的受试者血浆 ET-1 浓度明显较低。POMS 评估显示，暴露于森林环境后，受试者的负面子量表得分较低，活力得分增加。
森林浴有益于人体健康，可能通过与几种病理因素相关的预防作用。
