Measuring the Effects of Forest SPA Programme in Urban Parks Using Active Imagination

AbstractNature has been shown to be beneficial to our overall health and well-being. We are all connected to nature and it is important to maintain this vital connection for our health and well-being. Spending time outside in nature or urban parks has been shown to positively affect a person’s emotions and improve their sense of well-being. Access to nature balances circadian rhythms, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress and increases absorption of Vitamin D. Increasingly, evidence demonstrates that contactwith the living world around us is an important part of healing and recovery. The natural world’s role in human well-being is an essential, yet often forgotten, aspect of healthcare. Of particular importance are the benefits one can derive through interaction with natural environments. Reincorporating the natural world is practiced to move healthcare toward being more “green”. Spiritual well-being is enhanced through the experience of greater interconnections, and it occurs when interacting with the natural world. One study examined the physiological and psychological responses to real forest landscapes as well as the therapeutic uses of forests relative to urban environments.Lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol have been reported in adults subsequent to performing the same mental activities in a garden setting vs. an indoor classroom. A separate study involving over 11,000 adults from Denmark showed that living more than 1 km away from green space (forests, parks, beaches, lakes) were 42 percent more likely to report high stress and had the worst scores on evaluations of general health, vitality, mental health and bodily pain The landscape itself offers retreat from daily routine. The aim of our research was to measure the effects of Forest SPA programs on attendants’ well-being. Research has been organized in cooperation between Health college Belgrade and Medical SPA Association of Serbia. There were fourteen participants taking part in the research. Prior to Forest SPA program all participants, 14 students on specialization in Medical Wellness were invited to half-an-hour active imagination (mandala drawing) workshop. Drawing Mandala is a meditation in motion, dreaming with open eyes, and during the process of active imagination the unconscious self is active and not passive like in dreams. Using the data and research methodology from Henderson’s Empirical Study of the Healing Nature of Artistic Expression we designed our investigation. After 90 minutes of Forest SPA program in selected Urban park, participants were invited to draw mandala to describe how they feel at that moment. Several participants (8 of them) attended a 90-minute City SPA program with Tibetan bowls vibration massage. At the end of the SPA program they were invited to draw mandala. Analyzing symbols and colors, number of symbols and their relationship in presented mandalas we can realize the effects of the Forest SPA programs in urban parks on achieving better emotional balance and enhancing individualization process in participants. Our pilot research of Active imagination (by drawing mandalas) revealed that it can be used as a part of Forest SPA program as ART therapy and at the same time as an instrument for individual approach to the client of Forest SPA program as a medical SPA concept.

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A new relationship

10.1093/oso/9780198827238.003.0012 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Philip James

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Natural Environment ◽

Well Being ◽

Natural World ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Paradigm Shifts ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Conservation Policies ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

The Way

If the health and well-being benefits attributable to contact with nature are to be realized, there needs to be a change in the framing of nature within urban environments. The way nature is perceived and valued and the way that it is incorporated in policy and practice need to be re-positioned. The discourse around that challenge and the resulting re-framing are set out. There is a discussion of the changing relationship between humans and the natural environment. Ideas around nature apart from, or in spite of, or for, or and people are considered. These paradigm shifts affect conservation policies and associated practices. The ecosystem services and disservices attributable to urban environments are assessed. The importance of cultural services within urban environments is highlighted. Tensions that exist within this changing relationship are causing humans to forget the natural world and its benefits, with knock-on ill effects to human health.

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Evidence-Based Landscape Architecture for Human Health and Well-Being

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12041360 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 1360 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Robert D. Brown ◽

Robert C. Corry

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Architectural Design ◽

Landscape Architecture ◽

Well Being ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Natural Environments ◽

The People ◽

Outdoor Environments ◽

The Usa ◽

Health And Well Being

More than 80% of the people in the USA and Canada live in cities. Urban development replaces natural environments with built environments resulting in limited access to outdoor environments which are critical to human health and well-being. In addition, many urban open spaces are unused because of poor design. This paper describes case studies where traditional landscape architectural design approaches would have compromised design success, while evidence-based landscape architecture (EBLA) resulted in a successful product. Examples range from school-yard design that provides safe levels of solar radiation for children, to neighborhood parks and sidewalks that encourage people to walk and enjoy nearby nature. Common characteristics for integrating EBLA into private, public, and academic landscape architecture practice are outlined along with a discussion of some of the opportunities and barriers to implementation.

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Biodiversity and Health in the Urban Environment

Current Environmental Health Reports ◽

10.1007/s40572-021-00313-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Melissa R. Marselle ◽

Sarah J. Lindley ◽

Penny A. Cook ◽

Aletta Bonn

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Human Health ◽

Urban Policy ◽

Policy Research ◽

Well Being ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Positive Health ◽

Causal Pathways ◽

Health And Well Being

Abstract Purpose of review Biodiversity underpins urban ecosystem functions that are essential for human health and well-being. Understanding how biodiversity relates to human health is a developing frontier for science, policy and practice. This article describes the beneficial, as well as harmful, aspects of biodiversity to human health in urban environments. Recent findings Recent research shows that contact with biodiversity of natural environments within towns and cities can be both positive and negative to human physical, mental and social health and well-being. For example, while viruses or pollen can be seriously harmful to human health, biodiverse ecosystems can promote positive health and well-being. On balance, these influences are positive. As biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, research suggests that its loss could threaten the quality of life of all humans. Summary A key research gap is to understand—and evidence—the specific causal pathways through which biodiversity affects human health. A mechanistic understanding of pathways linking biodiversity to human health can facilitate the application of nature-based solutions in public health and influence policy. Research integration as well as cross-sector urban policy and planning development should harness opportunities to better identify linkages between biodiversity, climate and human health. Given its importance for human health, urban biodiversity conservation should be considered as public health investment.

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Effects of exposure to immersive videos and photo slideshows of forest and urban environments

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-83277-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fariba Mostajeran ◽

Jessica Krzikawski ◽

Frank Steinicke ◽

Simone Kühn

Keyword(s):

Research Question ◽

Well Being ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Jail Inmates ◽

Forest Environment ◽

Main Research ◽

Head Mounted Display ◽

Sense Of Presence ◽

Hospital Patients

AbstractA large number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of natural environments on people’s health and well-being. For people who have limited access to nature (e.g., elderly in nursing homes, hospital patients, or jail inmates), virtual representations may provide an alternative to benefit from the illusion of a natural environment. For this purpose and in most previous studies, conventional photos of nature have been used. Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments, however, can induce a higher sense of presence compared to conventional photos. Whether this higher sense of presence leads to increased positive impacts of virtual nature exposure is the main research question of this study. Therefore, we compared exposure to a forest and an urban virtual environment in terms of their respective impact on mood, stress, physiological reactions, and cognition. The environments were presented via a head-mounted display as (1) conventional photo slideshows or (2) 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos. The results show that the forest environment had a positive effect on cognition and the urban environment disturbed mood regardless of the mode of presentation. In addition, photos of either urban or forest environment were both more effective in reducing physiological arousal compared to immersive 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos.

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Perceived Sensory Dimensions of Green Areas: An Experimental Study on Stress Recovery

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13105419 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 5419

Author(s):

Sanaz Memari ◽

Mahdieh Pazhouhanfar ◽

Patrik Grahn

Keyword(s):

Social Sustainability ◽

Well Being ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Film Clip ◽

Cultural Ecosystem Services ◽

Human Needs ◽

Green Areas ◽

Post Test ◽

Health Promoting ◽

Health And Well Being

Natural environments have been shown to promote health, and are, therefore, important for achieving social sustainability in cities. As cities grow and become denser, it is important to develop knowledge about the characteristics of natural environments that work to promote health. Perceived Sensory Dimensions (PSDs) is a tool that defines eight different cultural ecosystem services. They correspond to different human needs (rest, exercise, socialising, pleasure, or security) resulting in rehabilitation and health and well-being promotion. An experiment was conducted to study the potential of PSDs to restore people who experienced stressful accidents. One hundred and fifty-seven participants were recruited and asked first to watch a film clip of serious accidents, then to look at the pictures, depicting one particular type of PSDs, while listening to its respective audio recording. Their stress levels were measured before exposure to the stressor (baseline), after exposure to the stressor (pre-test), and after exposure to a particular type of PSDs (post-test). The results show that all eight PSDs effectively provide mental recovery, but there are statistical differences in their potentials. As such, it is proposed that the combined potential of the PSDs is needed, and should be used to increase the capacity and supply of health-promoting urban green areas.

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Threats to Health and Well-Being Perceived by Older People in Poland and Portugal

Acta Médica Portuguesa ◽

10.20344/amp.9613 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (7-8) ◽

pp. 409 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Maria da Piedade Moreira Brandão ◽

Laura Martins ◽

Marlena Szewczyczak ◽

Dorota Talarska ◽

Ian Philp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Older Persons ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Bodily Pain ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Joint Project ◽

Health And Well Being

Introduction: According to the OECD, Portugal and Poland rank below average in several well-being measures such as income and wealth, and health status. Investigating how people perceive the threats to health in these two countries, is an important issue to address priority needs. To meet this need, the objective of this paper was to compare the perceptions of the threats to the health and well-being among the Polish and Portuguese older persons and explore differences between the countries in respect of patterns of self-rated health.Material and Methods: A Cross-sectional study with two convenience samples from primary health care services of Poland and Portugal was conducted; 480 adults aged 65 and over (247 Portuguese) were included. The EASYCare standard assessment of 2010 was applied under a joint project of both countries. The association between ‘self-rated unhealthy’ and socio-demographic and threats to health variables was examined using logistic regression.Results: In both countries about two thirds of the older persons self-rated their health as unhealthy. Having more than enough finances was associated with a significant lower odds of being unhealthy compared with those without enough finances at the end of the month (Portugal: OR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.63; Poland: OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.88). Visual problems, bodily pain, memory loss, feeling bored or lonely and reporting shortness of breath during normal activities was consistently associated with fair or poor self-rated health.Discussion: These findings provide important information regarding the health profile of older people which can help in the development of people-centred health systems where their lives and well-being can be improved. Conclusion: The unhealthy perception of older people was consistently associated with indicators of major health threats.

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Mental Health & Resiliency: Designing Participatory Nature Dependent Environments and Communities for a Sustainable Future

Journal of Sustainable Development ◽

10.5539/jsd.v11n3p234 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 234 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jacqueline Beam ◽

Nawari O. Nawari ◽

Bill Tilson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Urban Planning ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Close Contact ◽

Community Planning ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Relationship Building ◽

Natural Environments

Sustainable design trends have historically wended down a road that supports the idea of densely populated urban planning as a strategy for mitigating sprawl. Creation of dense urban areas aims at the reduction of carbon emissions. However, studies show that densely populated areas often come with a panacea of mental health, resiliency, and quality of life ails for a community.The following research explores the possibility of combining densely populated design approaches with ancient community planning methods that encourage relationship building: close contact with natural environments and social interchange. Community planning that also creates a day to day contact with nature could be a crucial strategy for both sustaining healthy ecosystems and the development of sustainable communities. The potential for integrating dependence upon nature within built urban environments, as well as the possibility of positive place-making by harvesting nature dependent cultural and social assets in communities and neighborhoods, is, therefore, a wealthy area worthy of exploration.To explore these areas, mental health research on the effects of nature on the brain, as well as the three leading determinants of social, environmental and economic well-being, worldwide, and the founding cultures of these determinants were reviewed. Resilient indigenous groups and case studies of the happiest nation, of Norway and two leading environmentally sustainable and resilient countries, Costa Rica, Cuba, and New Mexico are examined. The paper provides recommendations for improving mental health and resilience by integrating strategies for nature and community needs in urban planning and built environments design.

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Green care in psychiatry

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.2020.166 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-2

Author(s):

Sharon Cuthbert ◽

Alan Kellas ◽

Lisa A. Page

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Mental Healthcare ◽

Well Being ◽

Natural Environments ◽

What Works ◽

Health And Well Being

Summary Engagement with natural environments is associated with improved health and well-being in the general population. This has implications for mental healthcare. Implementation of targeted nature-based interventions (green care) meets recovery needs and would enable research to develop, clarifying what works best for whom.

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Happiness at the End of Life: A Qualitative Study

American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine® ◽

10.1177/1049909120939857 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 104990912093985

Author(s):

Anne O’Callaghan ◽

Ben Bickford ◽

Conor Rea ◽

Antonio Fernando ◽

Phillipa Malpas

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

End Of Life ◽

Hospice Care ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Well Being ◽

Natural World ◽

The Internet ◽

Present Moment ◽

Hospice Patients ◽

Health And Well Being

Background: Happiness is a core ingredient of health and well-being, yet relatively little is known about what happiness means for individuals near the end of life, and whether perceptions of happiness change as individuals approach the end of their lives. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore, through interviews, how individuals experiencing hospice care understood and conceptualized happiness. Design: Qualitative interviews with hospice patients were analyzed thematically. Setting/Participants: Adult patients (n = 20) in a New Zealand hospice who were receiving palliative care and who could give their informed consent were invited by hospice nurse coordinators to an interview. Results: Four themes emerged from analysis of the transcribed interviews. Participants defined happiness most frequently and in most depth in relation to connection with others. They identified being in the present moment, particularly in relation to nature, and that happiness had become less associated with money, status, or possessions. They had an attitude of determination to focus on what mattered now. Conclusion: Patients receiving palliative care were generally happy with their lives, appreciated the simpler aspects of life away from the material. There was a common exhortation to young people to avoid focusing too much on acquisition and the internet and to prioritize instead social connection and engagement with the natural world.

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Gardening in Ashes: The Possibilities and Limitations of Gardening to Support Indigenous Health and Well-Being in the Context of Wildfires and Colonialism

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17093273 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (9) ◽

pp. 3273

Author(s):

Kelsey Timler ◽

Dancing Water Sandy

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Food Sovereignty ◽

Indigenous Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Natural World ◽

Community Based ◽

Naturally Occurring ◽

Climate Crisis ◽

Health And Well Being

In this paper, we will discuss gardening as a relationship with nature and an ongoing process to support Indigenous health and well-being in the context of the climate crisis and increasingly widespread forest fires. We will explore the concept of gardening as both a Euro-Western agriculture practice and as a longstanding Indigenous practice—wherein naturally occurring gardens are tended in relationship and related to a wider engagement with the natural world — and the influences of colonialism and climate change on both. Drawing on our experiences as an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper (Dancing Water) and a non-Indigenous community-based researcher (Kelsey), our dialogue will outline ways to support health and well-being through land-based activities that connect with Indigenous traditions in ways that draw on relationships to confront colonialism and the influences of climate change. This dialogue is founded on our experiences in the central interior of British Columbia, Canada, one of the areas hit hardest by the 2017 wildfires. We will explore the possibilities and limitations of gardening and the wider concept of reciprocity and relationship as a means to support food security, food sovereignty, and health for Indigenous Peoples.

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