Abstract
The global spread of COVID-19 has disrupted the normality of people’s daily lives, leading the population to social distancing and isolation. The closure of green areas also affected the well-being of the individual during the COVID-19 pandemic. Viewing flowers is expected to have similar positive effects to viewing natural scenery. Therefore, this study investigates how white, red, and yellow flower colors affect individuals’ psychological and physiological well-being. The experiment was conducted in an office-like setting with 50 participants. Participants looked at each flower color for 3 min. Electroencephalograms (EEGs), heart rate variability, and skin conductivity were measured to evaluate physiological responses along with both the semantic differential questionnaire (SD) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) to assess psychological responses. EEGs showed that the mean values of alpha relative power in the prefrontal lobe were significantly higher when viewing yellow and red flowers vs. white flowers. Furthermore, heart rate variability revealed that viewing yellow and red flowers increased parasympathetic nerve activity significantly. After viewing the yellow and red flowers, the average results for each subscale of the POMS questionnaire improved. The vigor (V) subscale and overall mood status values were significantly improved. The results of the SD method revealed that viewing yellow and red flowers resulted in a significantly higher sense of relaxation, cheerfulness, and comfort than viewing white flowers.
Highlights
Published: 29 September 2021Green spaces can significantly impact people’s well-being [1,2,3], and many people prefer to visit them as frequently as possible for leisure, sports, relaxation, or socializing [1].The COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, has dramatically changed the global population
Significant differences in alpha relative power power were were observed when participants looked at the tested visual stimuli
AF3 channel, observed when participants looked at the tested visual stimuli
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, has dramatically changed the global population. One of the recommended practices to prevent disease spread, may contribute to developing various problems such as depression, stress, apathy, and loneliness [2]. In this extraordinary situation, people were forced to stay at home for several weeks, with no freedom of movement. Anxiety and depression (16–28%) and self-reported stress (8%) were among the most common symptoms in preliminary research on human psychological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic [3]. Bezerra et al [4]
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