Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Economics and Social Sciences, Social Sciences in Landscape Research, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
Media Centre, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Dec 25;15(1):31. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15010031.
How can urban nature contribute to the reduction of chronic stress? We twice measured the concentration of the "stress hormone" cortisol in the hair of 85 volunteer gardeners (six months apart), relating cortisol level change to (self-reported) characteristics of their recreational activities. Both time spent in nature and physical activity led to decreases in cortisol, while time spent being idle led to an increase. At high levels of present stressors, however, the relationship for time spent in nature and for idleness was reversed. Time spent with social interaction had no effect on cortisol levels. Our results indicate that physical activity is an effective means of mitigating the negative effects of chronic stress. The results regarding the time spent in nature and time spent being idle are less conclusive, suggesting the need for more research. We conclude that if chronic stress cannot be abolished by eradicating its sources, public health may take to measures to reduce it-providing urban nature being one effective possibility.
城市自然如何有助于减少慢性压力？我们两次测量了 85 名志愿园丁（相隔六个月）头发中的“应激激素”皮质醇浓度，将皮质醇水平的变化与（自我报告的）娱乐活动特征联系起来。花在自然中的时间和体育活动都会导致皮质醇水平下降，而无所事事则会导致皮质醇水平上升。然而，在高压力源水平下，花在自然中的时间和无所事事的关系则相反。与社会互动的时间长短对皮质醇水平没有影响。我们的研究结果表明，体育活动是减轻慢性压力负面影响的有效手段。而关于花在自然中和无所事事上的时间的结果则不太确定，这表明需要进行更多的研究。我们的结论是，如果不能通过消除压力源来消除慢性压力，公共卫生可能会采取措施来减轻压力——提供城市自然是一种有效的可能性。
