Abstract
Several priority characteristics of wood that have beneficial effects on human beings have been reported. However, the advantages of wood use in bedroom interiors for sleep have not been fully evaluated. The aim of this cross-sectional epidemiological study was to evaluate the association of wood use in housing and bedrooms with comfort in the bedroom and sleep among workers in Japan. The study methods included sleep measurements using actigraphy and a self-administered questionnaire survey. In total, 671 workers (298 men and 373 women; mean age ± standard deviation: 43.3 ± 11.2 years) were included in the analysis. The amount of wood used in bedrooms was significantly associated with comfort in bedrooms, inversely associated with suspicion of insomnia, partly inversely associated with self-rated poor sleep quality, but not associated with low sleep efficiency. On logistic regression analysis, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of the “large amount of wood” group relative to the “no wood” group was 3.25 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.63–6.47] for comfort. The aOR of the “no wood” group relative to the “large amount of wood” group was 2.15 (95% CI 1.11–4.16) for suspicion of insomnia. Wood structure of housing, as well as wood use on either the floor, wall, or ceiling, were not significantly associated with comfort and sleep conditions. Our study suggested that the use of a large amount of wood used in the bedroom interior could be beneficial for comfort, sleep, and therefore, health of workers. Further studies are required to obtain generalizable results.
Highlights
The priority characteristics of wood that have beneficial effects on human beings have been reported in a review article on a dozen studies evaluating physiological indices such as pulse rate, blood pressure, autonomic nervous activity, and brain activity in case of viewing, touching, or smelling of wood [1]
Percentage of “large” amount of wood used in bedroom interior was 28.9% (n = 194)
This study suggested that the use of a large amount of wood in the bedroom interior is beneficial for comfort and sleep, the choice of material for the interior depends on the preference of individuals
Summary
The priority characteristics of wood that have beneficial effects on human beings have been reported in a review article on a dozen studies evaluating physiological indices such as pulse rate, blood pressure, autonomic nervous activity, and brain activity in case of viewing, touching, or smelling of wood [1]. Morita et al J Wood Sci (2020) 66:10 parasympathetic nervous activity, resulting in superior physiological relaxation as compared with that when touching marble [2]. Another review article on wood use for built indoor environments reported that autonomic stress responses reduced with the use of wood for interiors compared with the absence of or use of less wood for interiors of rooms [3]. A study with 20 participants reported that wooden rooms resulted in less tension and fatigue and were more beneficial to the autonomic nervous system, respiratory system, and visual system than were non-wooden rooms [6]
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