scholarly journals The Effects of Soundscapes in Relieving Stress in an Urban Park

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1323
Author(s):  
Xin Cao ◽  
Yen Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Stress Relief ◽  
Wilcoxon Test ◽  
Urban Park ◽  
Natural Sounds ◽  
Stress Relieving ◽  
Physiological Indexes

Urban parks are important urban public spaces that guarantee people recreation, create positive emotions and relieve stress. Emerging research has shown that natural soundscapes are associated with restorative landscapes in urban parks. However, there is still a lack of knowledge on the use of physiological indexes to evaluate the effects of natural sounds versus human-based sounds on stress relief. In this study, the three physiological indexes of skin conductance level, heart rate and heart rate variability were collected in Fuzhou West Lake Park with the help of Ergo LAB data platform, and a soundscape perception evaluation questionnaire was used to assess the degree of soundscape perceptions in the sample sites. The differences in the stress relieving effects of different urban park environments were analysed by applying the median test, the Wilcoxon test was applied to analyse the effects of soundscapes and urban park environments on relieving stress, and regression analysis was used to identify the important factors of restorative soundscapes. The results found that urban park environments provide a certain degree of stress relief, but the stress relieving effects of different urban park environments vary and that natural spaces play an important role in relieving stress. Urban park soundscapes are key to restorative environmental design, with natural sounds such as birdsong and stream sound being important factors of restorative soundscapes.

Effects of Provocation on Emotions and Aggression: An Experimental Study with Aggressive Children

2006 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Stadler ◽  
Sonja Rohrmann ◽  
Sibylle Steuber ◽  
Fritz Poustka
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Competitive Reaction ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Conduct Disordered ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Aggressive Children ◽  
Conductance Level

In this study, the effects of an experimental-induced provocation on emotions and aggression were examined in 34 aggressive conduct-disordered children using a competitive reaction time paradigm. Two experimental conditions were created, an increasing provocation and a low constant provocation condition. Self-rated anger was assessed directly after provocation on a 5-point-visual scale. In addition, negative and positive emotions as well as physiological measures (heart rate and skin conductance level) were measured at baseline and after provocation. Results revealed that participants’ aggressive behaviour and subjective emotions differed as a function of the opponent’s level of provocation. Concerning physiological parameters, no significant differences were found between the experimental conditions. These results suggest that affective, but not physiological variables characterize reactive aggression in conduct-disordered children.

The Effect of Searching Versus Surfing on Cognitive and Emotional Responses to Online News

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Wise ◽  
Hyo Jung Kim ◽  
Jeesum Kim
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Online News ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Mixed Design ◽  
Information Need ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Rate Acceleration

A mixed-design experiment was conducted to explore differences between searching and surfing on cognitive and emotional responses to online news. Ninety-two participants read three unpleasant news stories from a website. Half of the participants acquired their stories by searching, meaning they had a previous information need in mind. The other half of the participants acquired their stories by surfing, with no previous information need in mind. Heart rate, skin conductance, and corrugator activation were collected as measures of resource allocation, motivational activation, and unpleasantness, respectively, while participants read each story. Self-report valence and recognition accuracy were also measured. Stories acquired by searching elicited greater heart rate acceleration, skin conductance level, and corrugator activation during reading. These stories were rated as more unpleasant, and their details were recognized more accurately than similar stories that were acquired by surfing. Implications of these results for understanding how people process online media are discussed.

scholarly journals Evaluating Stress Relief from Architecture: A Case Study Based on Buildings in Taiwan, China and Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7899
Author(s):  
Ming-Chyuan Ho ◽  
Yung-Chia Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Stress Relief ◽  
Future Trend ◽  
Differential Method ◽  
City Image ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Architectural Styles ◽  
Stress Relieving ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Image Identity

The urban landscape can be improved to reduce the stress experienced by citizens. Therefore, stress-relieving buildings constitute a crucial topic and a future trend in architecture and design. In this study, different architectural styles were investigated to explore design methods for and characteristics of stress-relieving building shapes and to identify indicators for measuring participant stress relief while viewing buildings. To understand stress relief from architecture, we performed semi-structured interviews with 60 participants who viewed images of 30 buildings. The semantic differential method with a 7-point image scale was used to rate stress relief from different architectural styles. The study results revealed that the participants perceived curvilinear buildings as interesting but do not relieve stress. The participants identified as feeling high pressure considering rectilinear patterns to relieve more stress. To support this observation, we identified three principles—city image, identity, and spiritual atmosphere—as fundamental loci of designing cities for livability. We illustrate the three principles with several cases that facilitate a detailed understanding of their applicability in biodesign practices.

scholarly journals A Pragmatic Controlled Trial of Forest Bathing Compared with Compassionate Mind Training in the UK: Impacts on Self-Reported Wellbeing and Heart Rate Variability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1380
Author(s):  
Kirsten McEwan ◽  
David Giles ◽  
Fiona J. Clarke ◽  
Yasu Kotera ◽  
Gary Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Increase Heart Rate ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Forest Bathing ◽  
Mind Training

Forest Bathing, where individuals use mindfulness to engage with nature, has been reported to increase heart rate variability and benefit wellbeing. To date, most Forest Bathing studies have been conducted in Asia. Accordingly, this paper reports the first pragmatic controlled trial of Forest Bathing in the United Kingdom, comparing Forest Bathing with a control comprising an established wellbeing intervention also known to increase heart rate variability called Compassionate Mind Training. Sixty-one university staff and students (50 females, 11 males) were allocated to (i) Forest Bathing, (ii) Compassionate Mind Training or (iii) Forest Bathing combined with Compassionate Mind Training. Wellbeing and heart rate variability were measured at baseline, post-intervention and three-months follow-up. There were improvements in positive emotions, mood disturbance, rumination, nature connection and compassion and 57% of participants showed an increase in heart rate variability. There were no significant differences between conditions, showing that Forest Bathing had equivalence with an established wellbeing intervention. The findings will help healthcare providers and policy makers to understand the effects of Forest Bathing and implement it as a feasible social prescription to improve wellbeing. Future research needs to involve clinical populations and to assess the effects of Forest Bathing in a fully powered randomised controlled trial.

scholarly journals Community Perceptions about Participating in Urban Park Establishment in Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1268
Author(s):  
Bayarmaa Enkhbold ◽  
Kenichi Matsui
Keyword(s):  
Community Participation ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Urban Park ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Housing Type ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors ◽  
Land Size

Urban parks are essential for communities to maintain and improve health, culture, and quality of life. However, Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, faces a shortage of urban parks due to overpopulation and unplanned land use. A good community-based strategy can help urban park planners and decision-makers understand residents’ needs. It can also improve livability and the urban environmental conditions at large. This paper attempts to understand residents’ perceptions about participating in urban park establishment and maintenance. As the past studies showed a lack of community participation in urban planning in Ulaanbaatar, it attempts to determine the extent to which residents perceive urban park benefits, the importance of community participation, preferred types of contribution, and willingness to contribution land in establishing urban parks in their neighborhood. In doing so, it identifies socio-demographic factors that influence their willingness to participate and contribute. A total of 600 paper-based questionnaires were randomly distributed among ger and apartment residents, and only 535 were analyzed. The result shows that approximately 73% of the respondents considered community participation very important for establishing urban parks in their neighborhood. Most respondents perceived urban park benefits as playgrounds for children, and relaxation and recreation. Respondents’ education and housing type were found significant in overall willingness to participate in park establishment and maintenance, whereas marital status and land size were observed statistically significant in the willingness of sharing some portions of their lands for park establishment in the ger area.

scholarly journals Physiological synchrony promotes cooperative success in real-life interactions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Behrens ◽  
J. A. Snijdewint ◽  
R. G. Moulder ◽  
E. Prochazkova ◽  
E. E. Sjak-Shie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Cooperative Behavior ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Dyadic Interaction ◽  
Gut Feelings ◽  
The Face ◽  
Social Decision Making ◽  
Conductance Level

AbstractCooperation is pivotal for society to flourish and prosper. To ease cooperation, humans express and read emotions and intentions via explicit signals or subtle reflections of arousal visible in the face. Evidence is accumulating that humans synchronize these nonverbal expressions, as well as the physiological mechanisms underlying them, potentially promoting cooperative behavior. The current study is designed to verify the existence of this putative linkage between synchrony and cooperation. To that extent, 152 participants played multiple rounds of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game in a naturalistic dyadic interaction setting. During one round of games they could see each other, and during a second round they could not. The results showed that when people’s heart rate and skin conductance level aligned, they cooperated more successfully. Interestingly, for skin conductance level synchrony to boost cooperation, face to face contact was essential. The effect of heart rate synchrony on cooperation was context independent. Skin conductance level, but not heart rate, tended to closely correlate with changes in pupil size and we discuss how the pupil might provide a window to partners’ sympathetic arousal. These findings show how unconscious mechanisms guide social behavior and emphasize the importance of studying social processes between rather than within individuals in real-life interactions.Significance StatementHuman cooperation is remarkable in its scale, complexity, and efficiency. However, whereas people think of themselves as rational agents, they actually partly base their decision to cooperate with someone on gut feelings. These feelings are informed by non-verbal expressions that are picked up implicitly and that synchronize across interaction partners. For the first time, we show that the alignment of people’s arousal over multiple rounds of the Prisoners’ dilemma game predicts cooperative success. Through synchrony, partners converge emotionally, fostering understanding and bonding, which are key ingredients when it comes to successful cooperation. This suggests that successfully cooperating does not depend on individuals, but on the connection between individuals, emphasizing the importance of studying social decision-making processes in real-life settings.

scholarly journals Condition of urban park infrastructure in the context of perceived security of park users

2021 ◽  
Vol 900 (1) ◽  
pp. 012036
Author(s):  
P Polko ◽  
K Kimic
Keyword(s):  
Urban Parks ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Urban Park ◽  
Personal Security ◽  
Urban Greenery ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Perceived Security ◽  
Key Aspects

Abstract Personal security is one of the key aspects affected by the perception of urban greenery, which plays an important role for city dwellers. The survey conducted in Poland in 2020 (N=394) aimed to check how important for park users in context of perceived security are selected factors related to maintenance of different types of park infrastructure (condition of equipment and pavement, also condition of greenery), level of park cleanliness (filling of the rubbish bins, litter on the ground, and graffiti on different types of facilities), and elements related to the use of park space (paths, varied topography, functional aids, and water). The condition of equipment was assessed as a factor of high impact (average of 4.13 in 5-point Likert scale), as well as the presence of park paths (4.02). The results indicate that all 10 of the examined factors are recognized as important (3 and higher). They also show that both women (compared to men) and older respondents (compared to those under 60) assessed higher the importance of factors related to the condition of elements of infrastructure and pavement, as well as the level of cleanliness in urban parks in shaping their personal sense of security.

The Effect of Caffeine Consumed Before Competition on Heart Rate, Trigger Squeeze Time and Shooting Score in Air Pistol Athletes

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 3202-3205
Author(s):  
Kadir Diler ◽  
Gamze Erikoğlu Örer
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Coffee Consumption ◽  
Wilcoxon Test ◽  
Caffeine Consumption ◽  
Male Athletes ◽  
Sports History ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Caffeinated Coffee ◽  
Single Blind

Background: Caffeine consumption may adversely affect the performance of athletes in some sports. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of caffeine drink consumed before competitions by air pistol athletes on their heart rate, trigger squeeze times and shooting scores. Methods: : In the study, caffeinated and caffeine-free measurements were applied on the same athletes. Following the evaluation, a total of 20 elite athletes, including 10 women with a mean age of 23.6±4.7 and 10 men with a mean age of 25.9±4.8 who had at least 2 years sports history, participated voluntarily in the study. The study was planned as a single blind. All athletes shot 10 times before both measurements. By random method, the athletes consumed Coffee with 3mg/kg caffeine or decaf coffee before the measurement. After 1 week, the same athletes were given coffee which was not given in the previous measurement before the measurement. A total of 80 shots were fired at 15, 30 and 60 minutes after both measurements. Following the evaluation, heart rates, trigger squeeze times and shooting scores of the athletes were recorded. Wilcoxon test to compare the differences between the measurements at two different times on the same group and Mann-Whitney U test to examine the differences in independent groups were used. Results: When the differences between the measurements of all male and female athletes were examined, it was found that there was an increase in their heart rate and trigger squeeze times 15, 30 and 60 minutes after caffeinated coffee consumption, and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Besides there was a significant decrease in 15, 30 and 60 minute shooting scores of female athletes, and 15 and 30 minute shooting scores of male athletes (p<0.05). Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was observed that the use of caffeine had a negative effect on the performance of air pistol athletes. Therefore, it can be said that people interested in air pistol discipline should not consume coffee or caffeine-containing beverages within 1-2 hours before the competition, if they consume, their heart rate will increase and their aiming during shooting will be more difficult and trigger-squeezing times will be extended. Keywords: Air pistol, Caffeine, Heart rate, Shooting

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