Lee Min-Sun, Lee Juyoung, Park Bum-Jin, Miyazaki Yoshifumi
Department of Horticulture Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-764, Korea.
Korea Forest Service, Government Complex 1, 189 Cheongsa-ro, Seo-gu, Daejeon, 302-701, Korea.
J Physiol Anthropol. 2015 Apr 28;34(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s40101-015-0060-8.
Developments in information technology cause a great deal of stress to modern people, and controlling this stress now becomes an important issue. The aim of this study was to examine psychological and physiological benefits of interaction with indoor plants.
The study subjects were 24 young male adults at the age of 24.9 ± 2.1 (mean ± SD). The crossover experimental design was used to compare the differences in physiological responses to a computer task and a plant-related task. Subjects were randomly distributed into two groups. The first group (12 subjects) carried out transplanting of an indoor plant, whereas the second group (12 subjects) worked on a computer task. Then, each subject switched activities. The psychological evaluation was carried out using the semantic differential method (SDM) and physiological evaluation using heart rate variability (low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) components) and blood pressure.
Analysis of the SDM data showed that the feelings during the transplanting task were different from that during the computer task: the subjects felt more comfortable, soothed, and natural after the transplanting task than after the computer task. The mean value of total log[LF/(LF + HF)] (sympathetic activity) increased over time during the computer task but decreased at the end of the transplanting task, and the differences were significant. Furthermore, diastolic blood pressure was significantly lower after the transplanting task.
Our results suggest that active interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress compared with mental work. This is accomplished through suppression of sympathetic nervous system activity and diastolic blood pressure and promotion of comfortable, soothed, and natural feelings.
信息技术的发展给现代人带来了巨大压力，控制这种压力如今已成为一个重要问题。本研究的目的是探讨与室内植物互动对心理和生理的益处。
研究对象为24名24.9±2.1岁（均值±标准差）的年轻男性成年人。采用交叉实验设计比较对计算机任务和与植物相关任务的生理反应差异。受试者被随机分为两组。第一组（12名受试者）进行室内植物移栽，而第二组（12名受试者）进行计算机任务。然后，每个受试者切换活动。心理评估采用语义差异法（SDM），生理评估采用心率变异性（低频（LF）和高频（HF）成分）和血压。
对SDM数据的分析表明，移栽任务期间的感受与计算机任务期间不同：与计算机任务后相比，受试者在移栽任务后感觉更舒适、舒缓和自然。计算机任务期间，总log[LF/（LF+HF）]（交感神经活动）的平均值随时间增加，但在移栽任务结束时降低，差异显著。此外，移栽任务后舒张压显著降低。
我们的结果表明，与室内植物进行积极互动相比于脑力劳动能够减轻生理和心理压力。这是通过抑制交感神经系统活动和舒张压以及促进舒适、舒缓和自然的感觉来实现的。
