Abstract
The current study analyses the evolution of different human stress markers during an 8 h exposure to a Mediterranean Holm oak forest. We conducted a pre-post study with thirty-one subjects in which saliva samples were collected before the exposure (baseline) and after 1, 2, 4 and 8 h. Our results show: (A) a significant decrease in cortisol saliva concentrations from the second hour until the end compared to basal time; (B) a significant increase in alpha amylase activity after the first hour of exposure compared to basal time that remained elevated during the rest of the study; (C) a significant decrease in IgA from the fourth hour of exposure compared to the basal time. These findings indicate an effect of forest exposure in salivary biomarkers of stress and provide relevant data for the scientific and healthcare community encouraging further research in the field.
Highlights
Chronic and acute stress, low capacity to recover from it, and states derived from suffering it, have been linked to different long-term pathologies and psychological disorders [1,2,3,4,5]
Considering that several studies have found lower cortisol concentrations after forest exposure compared to urban environments’ exposure [7,11,12,13,14,19,35,36], we focused on identifying the variation in salivary stress markers in the forest during an 8 h exposure rather than again comparing these environments with the urban ones
0.21–0.33 μg/dL; 25–75th percentiles) and 8 h (0.148 μg/dL; range 0.11–0.22 μg/dL; 25–75th percentiles) in the forest, there is a significant decrease in salivary cortisol levels in comparison with the baseline measurements (p < 0.0001)
Summary
Low capacity to recover from it, and states derived from suffering it, have been linked to different long-term pathologies and psychological disorders [1,2,3,4,5]. The potential of forests as a source of health has led to numerous studies that provide evidence of its benefits [6,7,8] and strongly correlate exposure to these ecosystems with stress regulation [9,10]. Several studies have proved that exposure to forests lowers stress markers compared to urban settings [7,11,12,13,14,15,16], other studies found no significant differences [17,18,19,20]. Most of the studies included in the review considered short-term exposures to forested ecosystems (from 15 min to 4 h). To date, limited data are available to understand the effects of forests on stress hormones [21] and no studies have assessed the effect of long-term exposures to forest environments
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