Therapeutic effect of forest bathing on human hypertension in the elderly

Summary & key facts

Researchers sent 24 people aged about 60 to 75 who had high blood pressure on a week-long trip. Half stayed in a broad-leaved forest and half stayed in a city area. The forest group walked twice a day, ate similar food, and kept taking their usual blood-pressure medicines. After seven days the forest group had lower blood pressure, lower blood levels of several hormones and inflammation markers linked to heart disease, and reported fewer negative feelings. The city group showed little change. The study is small and short, so it does not prove long-term effects or that the forest alone caused the benefits.

Key facts:

• The study compared two groups of 12 elderly people with high blood pressure. One group spent seven days in a forest. The other group spent seven days in a city area.
• People in the forest group showed a clear drop in blood pressure after the trip. The city group showed little change in blood pressure.
• The researchers measured several blood chemicals linked to blood pressure control and inflammation. These included renin and angiotensin-related hormones, endothelin-1, homocysteine, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor. Most of these markers were lower after the forest stay than before, and lower than in the city group.
• Mood scores that measure negative feelings went down in the forest group. That means the forest stay was linked with less negative mood over the week.
• The team measured air quality at both sites. The forest had better air, with more negative air ions and less small dust (PM10) than the city site.
• All participants continued their usual blood-pressure medicines during the study. That means the blood pressure changes happened while people stayed on their normal drugs, not after stopping them.
• The study had limits: it included only a small number of people, lasted one week, and could not hide who was in which site. These points make it hard to be sure the forest was the only reason for the improvements or that the effects would last long-term.

Topics

Biofield Effects and Biophysics Therapeutic Uses of Natural Elements Urban Green Space and Health

Categories

Environmental Science Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis Physical Sciences

Tags

Bathing Cardiology Intensive care medicine Internal medicine Medicine Pathology