RESUMO
Walking exercise in forests, referred to as “shinrin-yoku, forest-air bathing and walking, ” has been attracting attention as a method for promoting mental and physical health utilizing the environment and topography of forests in the recent time. Walking exercise in forests has characteristics arising from the natural environment and topography of forests with beautiful trees, twittering of birds, and favorable fragrances of woods, etc. However, scientific verification of such specific effects is necessary in order to make walking an authentic method to health promotion. This study intended to physiologically investigate it from physical and scientific point of view. For this purpose, we determined chronological changes in energy consumed in walking exercise in forests with a portable oxygen intake measuring device, on the basis of data on the respiratory and circulatory systems such as heart rate and the amounts of ventilation and oxygen intake. The results suggested that the changes in these parameters showed the movement correlated with the changes in topography of forests, including the inclination and demonstrated that selection on the resting locations was related to the comfortable rhythm of walking. Furthermore, it was indicated that exercise loading to living body tended to increase in association with increases in the upward inclination, resulting that the energy consumed in walking was less though the amounts of exercise loading to lower limbs tended to be very large at a download inclination of 36.0 degrees or larger. This demonstrative study suggested that to determine chronological changes in physiological loading conditions related to the walking route was effective to establish promenades in order to perform comfortable and effective forest bath.
RESUMO
We plotted the distribution of long-lived persons derived from the national register of long-lived persons as of fiscal years of 1980 (N=1, 349) and 2000 (N=17, 740) prepared by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to investigate various factors such as medical climatology and geography on healthy aging. The data were plotted on a map of Japan classified into various living environments, such as coastal areas, forests, and mountainous areas. In addition, we investigated universal elements and transforming elements through year-by-year comparisons over a period of 20 years. Japan was divided into nine climatic districts Hokkaido, the Japan Sea area, the Pacific Ocean area, the Sanriku district, the Tokai district, the inland district, the Seto Inland Sea district, the Northern Kyushu district, the Nankai district, and the South-western Islands.<br>Consequently, we found a common trend that relatively warm climates and climates in coastal areas are favorable for longevity. However, the following trends were also recognized as transforming elements that cannot be ignored: 1. A remarkable improvements in the rate (number of long-lived people per 100, 000 population) in cold climate regions, i.e., the Japan sea area, inland area, and Hokkaido; 2. A remarkable shift of higher rates from coastal areas, which are contaminated by industrial plants, to inland flat areas.<br>As a result, it has become clear that research on factors of healthy aging, especially in cold climate regions, have to be made in the future.
RESUMO
It is believed that one of the principal effects of negative air ion is refreshing human psychological condition. Negative air ion can be observed in natural environments such as forest, fountain, and hot spring. In order to elucidate scientific reason of psychological effects by negative air ions, quantifying psychological effects will be important.<br>Healthy sixteen examinees (8 young candidates around 20 years, 8 old candidates around 60 years) are tested by SRS-18, blood pressure, questionnaire, and electroencephalogram. SRS-18, blood pressure, questionnaire was performed before and after experiment. Electroencephalogram was continuously measured during whole experiment and used for emotional spectrum analysis method (ESAM) calculation. Experiment was divided into three conditions (initial normal condition, negative air ion boosted condition at middle concentration, after ventilated condition) and three phases (accommodation, rest, calculation) at each condition.<br>At young group, excessive negative air ions increased human psychological concentration which is calculated by ESAM. At calculation phase, psychological concentration has a positive correlation with psychological stress (correlation factor 0.505). Otherwise at old aged group, no significant change was observed. It shows that sensitivity of negative air ions at old persons will be reduced. It also suggests that human sensitivity for negative air ion decreases with aging.<br>At rest phase of young group in negative air ion boosted condition, elementary emotions are balanced at ESAM. This shows that balancing among four elementary emotions is related with psychological effects of negative air ions.
RESUMO
In this study, 10 healthy students were subjected to experiments. They bathed in plain hot spring water and hot spring water with 2% Togol mud at 39°C for 10min at an interval of 1 week. No difference in the change rates of pulse rate and blood pressure was observed between the two types of bathing. Forehead and oral temperatures decreased slightly after bathing in plain hot spring water. However, after bathing in hot spring water with Togol mud, the forehead temperature tended to be higher than that before bathing while the oral temperature increased significantly after bathing. Skin surface temperatures on the chest wall, left instep, and right forearm increased significantly after both types of bathing. Changes in the skin temperature after bathing in hot spring water with Togol mud tended to be greater than those after bathing in plain hot spring water. Eight out of 10 students felt warmer after bathing in hot spring water with Togol mud. These findings suggest that bathing in hot spring water with Togol mud is useful for medical care.