ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2018
Psychological Benefits of Walking through Forest Areas.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT06452043 (Nature-based Therapy Program for Sustainable Health in Parkinson's Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 44 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Nature-based Therapy Program for Sustainable Health in Parkinson's Disease (PARC Project) - A Clinical Trial
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Restorative Effects from Green Exposure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Control Trials.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- What Activities in Forests Are Beneficial for Human Health? A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Physical exercise interventions for perinatal depression symptoms in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Medical empirical research on forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku): a systematic review.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of forest walking compared to urban walking in enhancing mucosal immunity.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The Effects of a Single Vagus Nerve's Neurodynamics on Heart Rate Variability in Chronic Stress: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Trial
- Forest Therapy Alone or with a Guide: Is There a Difference between Self-Guided Forest Therapy and Guided Forest Therapy Programs?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Assessing changes in mood state in university students following short-term study abroad.PloS one · 2021Trial
- An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Forest Therapy on Sleep Quality in Patients with Gastrointestinal Tract Cancers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- Effectiveness of a mindful nature walking intervention on sleep quality and mood in university students during Covid-19: A randomised control study.Explore (New York, N.Y.)Trial
- How nature nurtures: prenatal exposure to green space buffers the effects of maternal stress on neonatal BDNF methylation.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Effects of visual exposure to natural (vs. Built) environments on delay discounting and demand for substances: Preliminary evidence and future directions.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Comparative analysis of physiological and psychological effects of viewing and drinking flower tea.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Exploring the effects of short-term forest bathing on anxious medical undergraduates' stressful emotions using near-infrared functional brain imaging and facial expression technology.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Potential preventive effects of forest bathing/Shinrin-yoku on depressive symptoms: a narrative review of mechanistic evidence.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2026Review
- Effects of Forest Therapy on Depressive Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Psychology research and behavior management · 2026Review
- Outdoor Natural Versus Built Experiments: A Scoping Review and Methodological Recommendations for Psychological Science.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Neuroplastic adaptations in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases induced by green space activity: A pathway to optimized rehabilitation.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Article
- The impact of virtual images of coastal landscape features on stress recovery based on EEG.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Is forest bathing a panacea for mental health problems? A narrative review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study aimed to clarify the psychological benefits of brief walks through forest areas. In addition, we aimed to examine the associations between psychological responses and trait anxiety levels. Five-hundred-and-eighty-five participants (mean age, 21.7 ± 1.6 years) were instructed to walk predetermined courses through forest (test) and city (control) areas for 15 min. The Profile of Mood State (POMS) questionnaire and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to assess participants' psychological responses and trait anxiety levels, respectively. The results revealed that walking through forest areas decreased the negative moods of "depression-dejection", "tension-anxiety", "anger-hostility", "fatigue", and "confusion" and improved the participants' positive mood of "vigor" compared with walking through city areas. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between participants' trait anxiety levels and their changes in the subscale of "depression-dejection" of POMS after walking through forest areas. A more effective reduction in the feeling of "depression-dejection" after walking through forest areas was observed for participants with high trait anxiety levels than for those with normal and low trait anxiety levels. This study showed the psychological benefits of walking through forest areas and identified a significant correlation between psychological responses to walking through forests and trait anxiety levels.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.