• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.111-118
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• 2011

With increasing interest in health promotion and quality of life, growing attention has been focused on the beneficial effects of urban green area. However, very few evidence-based approaches have been conducted on the health-related benefits of urban greenery. Therefore, this study examined the health-related benefits of green areas using physiological and psychological indices to obtain evidence-based data on these benefits. Twenty male university students were selected as subjects. Data were collected when participants viewed landscapes in a green area or an urban area for fifteen minutes. This research was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of School of Medicine, Chungnam National University. Physiological data in the green area revealed significantly decreased heart rates, significantly increased high-frequency value of heart rate variability, an index of parasympathetic activity, and reduced salivary cortisol concentration, a stress hormone, compared to the urban area. Psychological tests showed the green area significantly reduced the negative mood state and psychological symptoms, and significantly increased the positive mood state. Our data provided evidence for the health-related benefits of green areas, and the findings of this study support that green areas can play a critical role in health promotion for urban residents, by positively affecting autonomic nervous and endocrinal activities.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.136-145
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial was to examine how acupuncture treatment at Shinmun(HT7) affects the brain activity and the autonomic nervous system(ANS), using electroencephalograms(EEG) and heart rate variability(HRV). Methods : Eighteen healthy volunteers participated in two separate experiments: in each experiment, either real acupuncture(RA) or non-penetrating sham acupuncture(SA) was applied at HT7 in random sequences to each person. The EEG and HRV measurements were conducted simultaneously before and during the acupuncture stimulation for 5 minutes, respectively. Resulting EEG and HRV parameters were compared between RA and SA groups. To assess differences according to the stress levels for participants, subgroup analysis was performed based on the results of the stress response index questionnaire. Results : In the results, acupuncture stimulation at HT7 increased ${\alpha}$ band in EEG. In the HRV analysis, heart rate was decreased significantly but HF and RMS-SD were increased in the RA group, compared with those of the SA group. In the subgroup analysis by stress level, participants in the RA group with high stress exhibited an increased in ${\alpha}$ band in their EEG while the low stress participants showed decrease or little increase in the band. For the SA group, ${\alpha}$ band reported relatively moderate changes in all channels. Conclusions : Our results showed that acupuncture induces changes in brain activation and the ANS. Acupuncture was related to the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. The brain activities of the participants were different depending on the stress level.