FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 1

The impact of forest environments on human well-being

McKensie MacGrath

The University of Alabama

Author Note

This paper is being submitted on June 26, 2020, for Dr. Roskos’ senior seminar on

Environmental Psychology.
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 2

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the psychological benefits associated with spending time in

forest environments. This literature review evaluates twelve articles on the topic of the impact of

forest environments on human psychological and physiological well-being. Due to the increasing

usage of technology as a tool for health and well-being, three studies of the impacts of virtual

reality forests were included. One essay provided evidence that human well-being and forest

resources of nations are related. This review found that overall, positive mood states were

increased, and negative mood states were decreased after spending time in forests. However,

older forests were found to benefit restoration more than younger forests. One study found that

tended forests have a more positive effect on well-being that untended forests, but a second

study’s results did not support this finding. It was also found that forest environments decrease

heart rate, salivary cortisol levels, and systolic blood pressure. Virtual reality forest environments

were found to decrease confusion, fatigue, anger-hostility, and tension, and increase vigor,

positive affect, vitality, and restoration. The results of physiological studies show that virtual

reality forests do not affect heart rate, systolic blood pressure, or cortisol levels. The articles have

several common limitations, including small study sizes, but overall the research is compelling. I

think the results of the studies show that spending time in physical forests is psychologically and

physiologically beneficial to humans, and virtual reality forests are beneficial to psychological

well-being as well.
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 3

The impact of forest environments on human well-being

Introduction

Background

It has long been thought that being in natural environments provides health benefits to

humans. The concept of forest therapy, spending time in forest environments for psychological

well-being, was proposed in Japan in 1982 (Ochiai et al., 2015). Today, there is a growing

interest in the psychological benefits associated with spending time in forest environments.

This literature review aims to provide an overview of the impact of natural and virtual

forest environments on psychological and physiological well-being. Given the current literature

on the topic, this literature review is meant to be perceived as novel. Unlike other literature

reviews on this topic, this review includes both real and virtual environments, and discusses the

impact of different types of forests; it is also the most up-to-date review of the literature. This

review presents evidence that spending time in forest environments is beneficial to psychological

and physiological well-being, and virtual reality forests increase psychological well-being and

feelings of restoration.

Importance of forest therapy research. As the world advances, it also becomes more

stressful. Forest therapy research is important to determine whether forest therapy is a viable

option for reducing stress and improving psychological and physiological well-being. Forests are

accessible to many people and usually cost nothing to enter, so forest therapy could be a

potentially attainable form of therapy for people who cannot or do not want to participate in

traditional therapy. Research in virtual reality forests is important, as well. Many of today’s

workplaces are fast-paced and stress-inducing. Virtual reality forests could offer a way to relax

and improve one’s well-being while still in the workplace and over a short period of time.
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 4

The articles. A literature review was conducted using APA PsychInfo, PubMed,

ScienceDirect, and ProQuest. I searched the key words “forest” or “forest bathing” or “forest

environments” and “well-being” and/or “psychological” and/or “physiological.” I selected ten

research articles, one data-based essay, and one literature review. The studies ranged in sample

size from 17 to 585, with a mean number of 172 participants. The participants’ age ranged from

20 to 81 years old. Two studies only included females, two studies only included males, and six

studies included both. One study involved older women requiring care and in wheelchairs, while

the rest of the studies included healthy adults. Six of the studies took place in natural forests, one

took place in a rooftop forest, and three were virtual reality forests that took place in a building.

Of the studies that took place in forests, three involved just walking, one involved a forest

recreation program (i.e. touching trees, breathing in the air, listening to the sounds), one involved

a forest therapy program (i.e. laid down, deep breathed, chatted), and one involved sitting in a

wheelchair.

Effects of forests on psychological well-being

Forest resources of nations

One essay in this review evaluated data on the forest resources of nations and human

well-being within those nations. Kauppi, Sandström, and Lipponen (2018) found a significant

positive correlation between the Human Development Index and the rate of change of forest

resources. The Human Development Index is a statistic composite that includes life expectancy,

education, and per capita income indicators of countries. The researchers found that the more

forests a country has than it had previously (i.e. rate of change), the higher the Human

Development Index is in that country. In African regions, the Human Development Index is low,
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 5

and the growing stock of forests is decreasing (Kauppi et al., 2018). This essay provides

evidence that human well-being and forest resources are related.

Negative moods

Four articles in this literature review studied the effects of forest environments on

negative moods. The articles used several psychological measurements to measure and define a

“negative” mood. These measurements were in the form of self-administered questionnaires.

Three articles used the Profile of Mood States (POMS) which evaluates confusion, fatigue, anger

and hostility, depression and dejection, and tension and anxiety. Two articles used to the State-

Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to measure feelings of anxiety. The Multiple Mood Scale-Short

Form was used to measure hostility, depression, and boredom in one article. One article used the

Positive and Negative Affect schedule to evaluate negative affect.

All four articles provided evidence that being in forest environments decreases negative

moods. Two articles found that there was a significant decrease in feelings of confusion, anger,

tension and anxiety, and depression and dejection after a forest recreation program compared to

the control day, and a fifteen minute walk in the forest compared to a fifteen minute walk in a

city area in (Bielinis, Bielinis, Krupinska-Szeluga, & Lukowski, 2019; Song et al., 2018). The

forest recreation program took place over two days with participants in the forest for five hours

total; the program involved listening to the sounds of nature, touching the trees, and sitting on the

ground (Bielinis et al., 2019). The control day involved the participants doing their regular,

everyday activities. Results also showed that walking and staying in the forest reduced hostility

(Morita et al., 2006). However, results showed that walking in the forest and participating in a

forest therapy program did not have a significant impact on the negative moods of fatigue or

boredom (Morita et al., 2006; Ochiai et al., 2015). During the forest therapy program, the
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 6

participants, as a group, walked, deep breathed, laid down, chatted, and rested (Ochiai et al.,

2015).

One article found that participants with higher trait anxiety scores showed greater

decreases in feelings of depression and dejection after the forest therapy program compared to

participants with low to average trait anxiety scores (Song et al., 2018). Another article found

that participants with higher anxiety levels had a greater positive effect (i.e. had the most reduced

hostility and depression) from walking in the forest (Morita et al., 2006). This suggests that

forest environments may have a greater impact on some high-risk populations. Overall, the

results of these articles provide significant evidence that being in forest environments decreases

negative moods.

Positive moods

This literature review included four articles that study the effects of forest environments

on positive moods. These articles also used the POMS to evaluate vigor, the Semantic

Differential (SD) to evaluate comfort and relaxation, the Positive and Negative Affect schedule

to evaluate positive affect, and the Multiple Mood Scale-Short Form to measure friendliness,

well-being, and liveliness. One article also included the Restorative Outcome Scale to assess

human restoration (i.e. a general restorative effect that was obtained as a result of the program)

and the Subjective Vitality Scale to measure vitality.

Two studies found that participants’ scores for vigor were significantly higher after

walking in the forest for fifteen minutes compared to a fifteen-minute walk in a city

environment, and after a four-hour forest therapy program (i.e. walking, deep breathing, laying

down) compared to before the program (Song et al., 2018; Ochiai et al., 2015). However, one

study did not observe this finding (Bielinis et al., 2019). The difference in results for vigor may
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 7

be due to the time spent in the forest. The study that did not find an increase in vigor took place

over two days and involved five hours spent in the forest; the participants walked, touched the

trees, sat on the ground, and listened to the sounds of the forest (Bielinis et al., 2019). The two

studies that did find an increase involved a fifteen-minute walk (Song et al., 2018) and a four-

hour program (i.e. walking, deep breathing, laying down) (Ochiai et al., 2015). One study found

that scores for friendliness, wellbeing, and liveliness were significantly higher after taking a walk

in a forest compared to a day that the participants did not visit a forest, even when participants

were able to do their favorite activities and exercise on the control day (Morita et al., 2006).

Higher scores were observed for feelings of comfort and relaxation after a four-hour forest

therapy program compared to before the program (Ochiai et al., 2015). Another study found that

scores for restoration and vitality were higher after the forest program compared to before the

program (Bielinis et al., 2019). Overall, the results of the articles show a significant increase in

positive moods from a forest recreation program, forest therapy, and walks in the forest.

Types of forests

There are many types of forest in the world, and their characteristics sometimes differ

drastically. This implies that each type of forest may have a different impact on the

psychological well-being of humans. This literature review includes two studies that research the

effects of different types of forest on psychological well-being

Tended vs. Untended forests. One study in this review assessed the differences of

tended and untended forests on psychological well-being. The tended forest was in use and

maintained; it had cut up logs near the path and low amounts of brush wood and dead wood

(Martens, Gutscher, & Bauer, 2011). The wild forest had not been in use for six years and was

not maintained; it had high amounts of brush wood and dead wood (Martens et al., 2011). The
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 8

study measured psychological well-being on eight subscales of activation, arousal, good mood,

reflection, calmness, lethargy, anger, and depression (Martens et al., 2011). The study found that

the participants who walked in the tended forests for thirty minutes had a stronger increase in the

subscales of good mood and calmness compared to those who walked in the untended forest

(Martens et al., 2011). The participants in the tended forest also had a stronger decrease in the

subscales of anger and depression than the untended forest participants (Martens et al., 2011).

However, a difference between the tended and untended forest environments was not observed

for the subscales of activation, lethargy, and arousal (Martens et al., 2011).

Age and management of forests. Another study researched the effects of several

different types of forests in terms of management and age on restoration. The study included an

urban recreation forest, an old-growth forest, a mature commercial forest, and a young

commercial forest (Simkin, Ojala, & Tyrväinen, 2020). Simkin, Okala, and Tyrväinen (2020)

used the Restoration Outcome Scale, Subjective Vitality Scale, and the Positive and Negative

Affect Schedule to measure restoration and well-being at each of the four forest sites. After

fifteen minutes of observation and thirty minutes of walking in the forests, the study found that

all four forests improved restoration, vitality, and positive affect, and decreased negative affect

(Simkin et al., 2020). However, the older forests (i.e. old-growth forest, mature commercial

forest, and urban recreation forest) were found to be significantly more restorative than the

young commercial forest (Simkin et al., 2020). The study also found that the natural forests and

managed forests did not differ in restorative effects (Simkin et al., 2020). This does not support

the results of Martens, Gutscher, and Bauer (2011), which found that tended forests had stronger

positive benefits than untended forests.

Effects of forests on physiological well-being

 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 9

Physiological measurements

In addition to evidence of the psychological benefits of forest environments, there is also

physiological evidence. There are three articles in this review that assess the impact of forest

environments on physiological well-being. The articles in the review used a variety of

physiological tests to evaluate the effects of forest environments on physiological well-being.

These tests include heart rate, salivary cortisol levels, and blood pressure. It is generally

acknowledged that lowered heart rate and blood pressure indicate a relaxed state. Increased

salivary cortisol levels are a reliable indicator of a stressed state (Ochiai et al., 2015).

Heart rate variability. One study assessed the effect of a hospital rooftop forest on the

heart rate variability of older women in a care facility (Matsunaga, Park, Kobayashi, &

Miyazaki, 2011). Heart rate variability measures the specific time between successive heartbeats.

The study found that twelve minutes of sitting in a wheelchair on the rooftop forest resulted in

consistently higher high-frequency (parasympathetic indicator) heart rate variability compared to

sitting in the parking lot, except at minutes one and two (Matsunaga et al., 2011). The study also

found that the low-frequency (sympathetic indicator) heart rate variability was lower for the

rooftop forest than the parking lot (Matsunaga et al., 2011).

Heart rate. Two studies in this review evaluated the effect of forest environments on

heart rate. One of the studies found that a forest recreation program significantly decreased pulse

rate in young polish adults (Bielinis et al., 2019). The two-day program involved walking,

listening to the sounds of the forest, viewing the forest, and touching the trees. The other study

also observed a decreased heart rate after a four-hour forest therapy program in middle-aged

women; the program involved walking, laying down, and deep breathing (Ochiai et al., 2015).
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 10

Salivary cortisol levels. One study in the review assessed salivary cortisol levels before

and after a forest therapy program. The program lasted four hours and participants walked, laid

down, and deep breathed in a forest. Ochiai et al. (2015) explain that salivary cortisol was

selected as a measurement because it measures sympathetic activity, and reducing stress

decreases sympathetic activity. The study found that salivary cortisol levels were significantly

lower after the forest therapy program compared to the day before (Ochiai et al., 2015).

Blood pressure. In this review, one study measured blood pressure before and after a

forest program. The program involved five hours of walking, listening to the sounds of the forest,

viewing the forest, and touching the forest, which took place over two days. The study found that

after the forest recreation program, systolic blood pressure declined (Bielinis et al., 2019). The

study did not observe a significant difference in diastolic blood pressure before and after the

program (Bielinis et al., 2019).

Effects of Virtual Reality Forests on Well-Being

Psychological well-being

Not only have physical forests been proven to be helpful to human psychological well-

being, but being in virtual reality forests is also showing positive results. Three studies in the

review assessed the impact of virtual reality forests on psychological well-being. The studies

used the Subjective Vitality Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Scale, Restoration Outcome

Scale, and the Profile of Mood States to quantify psychological well-being.

Mood. One study researched the effects of virtual reality urban environments and virtual

reality forest environments on psychological well-being. The virtual urban environment showed

a famous shopping district at Taipei, Taiwan-Ximending and the virtual forest environment

showed forest and waterfalls of the Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area. The study found
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 11

that virtual reality urban environments increased fatigue and anger-hostility and decreased self-

esteem (Yu, Lee, & Luo, 2018). However, virtual reality forest environments decreased

confusion, fatigue, anger-hostility, and tension. It was also found that virtual reality forests

increased vigor. Another study found that there was an increase in positive affect and vitality of

participants after a virtual reality forest experience (Mattila et al., 2020). In the study, the

participants sat down and used the virtual reality headset five minutes; the virtual reality forest

consisted of a closed view of a forest, with details like butterflies and forest noises. The

participants also scored lower on negative affect subscales after participating in the virtual reality

forest experience.

Restoration. One study in the review measured the impact of virtual reality forests on

feelings of restoration (i.e. a general restorative effect that was obtained as a result of the virtual

reality program). The forest consisted of a closed view of trees and grass, butterflies, and forest

sounds. The study found that restoration scores increased after the virtual reality forest

experience compared to before the experience (Mattila et al., 2020). The results also showed that

the virtual reality forest environment was perceived to be more restorative than the physical

forest environment (closed forest view without visual signs of urban elements), physical urban

forest environment (located at the edge of the forest where urban elements can be seen without

obstruction), and physical semi-urban forest environments (located at the edge of the forest

where urban elements can be seen but are obstructed by trees) on the restoration subscales of

coherence and fascination (Mattila et al., 2020). The virtual reality forest was also perceived to

be more compatible and more like “being away” than the physical urban forest environment and

semi-urban forest environment (Mattila et al., 2020).

Physiological well-being
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 12

Two studies in the review measured the effect of virtual reality forests on physiological

well-being. One of the studies found that virtual reality forest environments or virtual reality

urban environments did not have a significant difference in systolic blood pressure or heart rate

(Yu et al., 2018).

Stress-recovery. The other study assessed the impact of virtual reality forests with and

without sounds of the forests on physiological stress-recovery. Parasympathetic nervous system

activation was increased during virtual reality forest with forest sounds recovery after a

stimulated stress-inducing virtual reality experience (Annerstedt et al., 2013). This was not

observed for participants who recovered in virtual reality forest environments without forest

sounds or participants that recovered without virtual reality forests or forest sounds (Annerstedt

et al., 2013). The study did not find a significant difference in heart rate or cortisol levels

between the group that recovered in a virtual reality forest with forest sounds, virtual reality

forest without forests sounds, and no virtual forest or forest sounds (Annerstedt et al., 2013).

While the virtual forest immersion results are promising, it is still a relatively new concept and

requires further research.

Conclusion

Limitations of the articles

The research articles in this literature review had several common limitations. Only two

of the ten research articles had over one hundred participants, and thus had a relatively small

sample size. Four of the research articles only had one gender for participants. These factors

could potentially inhibit the studies’ results from generalizing to the rest of the population. It is

also worth noting that three of the research articles did not have control groups.

Main points
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 13

Despite these limitations, this literature review found that physical forests have

significant benefits on psychological and physiological well-being. There was significant

evidence that spending time in forest environments increases positive moods and decreases

negative moods. However, old forests may be more beneficial to well-being than young forests.

It was also found that forest environments decrease heart rate, salivary cortisol levels, and

systolic blood pressure, which is a reliable indicator of being in a relaxed state. Virtual reality

forests were also found to decrease negative moods and increase restoration; studies did not

show that virtual reality forests impact physiological well-being. I think the results of the studies

show that spending time in physical forests is psychologically and physiologically beneficial to

humans, and virtual reality forests are beneficial to psychological well-being as well.

Future research

While the current research is compelling, more research is still needed. Studies with large

sample sizes, both genders as participants, and a control group would be beneficial to supporting

the current evidence. This topic also has a lack of short-term and long-term intervention studies

with follow-ups after the forest environment exposure (Oh et al., 2017). The current literature

provides strong evidence for the positive impacts of being in forest environments on human well-

being, but future research is needed to determine if forest therapy is a viable form of therapy.
 FOREST ENVIRONMENTS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING 14

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