ArticleEnvironmental health and preventive medicine2022
Effects of forest environment (Shinrin-yoku/Forest bathing) on health promotion and disease prevention -the Establishment of "Forest Medicine".
Article in Environmental health and preventive medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07002853 (Nature-based Intervention Program for Sustainable Health in Older People Living With Chronic Non-specific Lower Back Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 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 Intervention Program for Sustainable Health in Older People Living With Chronic Non-specific Lower Back Pain (PARC Project 2) - A Feasibility Trial
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Short-term cardiovascular and mental health responses to Shinrin-Yoku (forest bathing): a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Community Forests and Public Health: A Research Agenda.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Smelling Wellness: Associations Between Botanic Garden Scentscapes and Human Health Gains.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Trial
- Spending time in a forest vs. a virtual forest simulation: qualitative and quantitative effects on stress perception and psychological wellbeing in a randomized cross-over trial of highly sensitive persons.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Trial
- Inhaled hinoki cypress essential oil improves saliva secretion and swallowing function in older adults with dysphagia: a randomized crossover study.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2026Trial
- Forest terpenes and stress: Examining the associations of filtered vs. non-filtered air in a real-life natural environment.Environmental research · 2025Trial
- Thriving Through Stressful Life Events with Nature: A Mixed-Method Study on Tending Indoor Plants and Rumination Resilience.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Trial
- Forest bathing improves inflammatory markers, SpO2, and subjective symptoms related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in male subjects at risk of developing COPD.Journal of occupational health · 2025Trial
- Therapeutic effects of forest bathing on older adult patients with essential hypertension: evidence from a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Impact of horticultural therapy on patients admitted to psychiatric wards, a randomised, controlled and open trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Terpenes as Potential Multi-Target Modulators of Chronic Stress-Induced Neuroendocrine-Immune Dysregulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Therapeutic Effect of Alpha-Pinene on In Vitro and In Vivo Models of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Residential greenness and depressive symptoms in the Mexican adult population: A cross-sectional study.Preventive medicine reports · 2026Article
- Monitoring muscle oxygen saturation during forest trail hiking: a prospective open-label quasi-experimental study with facility-based allocation examining physiological and immunological responses in older adults.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Forest Bathing (Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Efficacy of Forest Therapy on Negative Emotions, Oxidative Stress, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Elderly Hypertensive Patients.Anatolian journal of cardiology · 2026Article
- Harnessing phytochemicals for engineering health solutions.Human genomics · 2026Review
- Effects of forest bathing versus indoor gym exercise on exercise-related boredom: a randomized crossover trial with repeated measures.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Mental health during COVID-19 through Online Photovoice (OPV) in China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Potential preventive effects of forest bathing/Shinrin-yoku on depressive symptoms: a narrative review of mechanistic evidence.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Humans have enjoyed forest environments for ages because of the quiet atmosphere, beautiful scenery, mild climate, pleasant aromas, and fresh, clean air. In Japan, since 2004, serial studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of forest environments (Forest bathing/Shinrin-yoku) on human health. My research team has established a new medical science called Forest Medicine. The Forest Medicine is a new interdisciplinary science, belonging to the categories of alternative medicine, environmental medicine and preventive medicine, which studies the effects of forest environments (Forest bathing/Shinrin-yoku) on human health. It has been reported that Forest bathing/Shinrin-yoku has the following beneficial effects on human health:1 Shinrin-yoku increases human natural killer (NK) activity, the number of NK cells, and the intracellular levels of anti-cancer proteins, suggesting a preventive effect on cancers. 2 Shinrin-yoku reduces blood pressure and heart rate showing preventive effect on hypertension and heart diseases. 3 Shinrin-yoku reduces stress hormones, such as urinary adrenaline and noradrenaline and salivary/serum cortisol contributing to stress management. 4 Shinrin-yoku increases the activity of parasympathetic nerves and reduces the activity of sympathetic nerves to stabilize the balance of autonomic nervous system. 5 Shinrin-yoku improve sleep. 6 Shinrin-yoku increases the levels of serum adiponectin and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. 7 In the Profile of Mood States (POMS) test, Shinrin-yoku reduces the scores for anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue, and confusion, and increases the score for vigor, showing preventive effects on depression. 8 Shinrin-yoku may apply to rehabilitation medicine 9 Shinrin-yoku in city parks also has benefits on human health. 10 Shinrin-yoku may have preventive effect on COVID-19 by boosting immune function and by reducing mental stress.Taken together, these findings suggest that Shinrin-yoku may have potential preventive effects on non-communicable diseases.
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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.