Ideno Y, et al. – This study entailed a scrutiny of the preventive or therapeutic effects of the Shinrin–yoku (Forest bathing) on blood pressure. Based on the findings, it was concluded that Shinrin–yoku exerted a prominent effect on the reduction of blood pressure.

Methods

• The medical literature analyzed and appraised.
• Data was cumulated from 4 electronic databases for the period before May 2016, with language restriction of English and Japanese.
• The review considered all published, randomized, controlled trials, cohort studies, and comparative studies that evaluated the effects of the forest environment on changes in systolic blood pressure.
• A subsequent meta-analysis was carried out.

Results

• 20 trials involving 732 candidates were examined.
• Systolic blood pressure of the forest environment appeared to be markedly lower than that of the non-forest environment.
• The diastolic blood pressure of the forest environment was was reported to be considerably lower than that of the non-forest environment.