{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,17]],"date-time":"2026-10-17T08:08:34Z","timestamp":1792224514382,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,12,10]],"date-time":"2018-12-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1544400000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009665","name":"The Vehicle Racing Commemorative Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["-"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["-"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009665","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study aimed to clarify the psychological benefits of brief walks through forest areas. In addition, we aimed to examine the associations between psychological responses and trait anxiety levels. Five-hundred-and-eighty-five participants (mean age, 21.7 \u00b1 1.6 years) were instructed to walk predetermined courses through forest (test) and city (control) areas for 15 min. The Profile of Mood State (POMS) questionnaire and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to assess participants\u2019 psychological responses and trait anxiety levels, respectively. The results revealed that walking through forest areas decreased the negative moods of \u201cdepression-dejection\u201d, \u201ctension-anxiety\u201d, \u201canger-hostility\u201d, \u201cfatigue\u201d, and \u201cconfusion\u201d and improved the participants\u2019 positive mood of \u201cvigor\u201d compared with walking through city areas. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between participants\u2019 trait anxiety levels and their changes in the subscale of \u201cdepression-dejection\u201d of POMS after walking through forest areas. A more effective reduction in the feeling of \u201cdepression-dejection\u201d after walking through forest areas was observed for participants with high trait anxiety levels than for those with normal and low trait anxiety levels. This study showed the psychological benefits of walking through forest areas and identified a significant correlation between psychological responses to walking through forests and trait anxiety levels.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph15122804","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,12,10]],"date-time":"2018-12-10T11:31:16Z","timestamp":1544441476000},"page":"2804","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":104,"title":["Psychological Benefits of Walking through Forest Areas"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1924-1053","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chorong","family":"Song","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, 6-2-1 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5126-9198","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Harumi","family":"Ikei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, 6-2-1 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan"},{"name":"Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bum-Jin","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environment and Forest Resources, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juyoung","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Landscape Architecture, Hankyong National University, 327 Jungang-ro, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do 17579, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5889-1040","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Takahide","family":"Kagawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3170-6810","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yoshifumi","family":"Miyazaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Chiba University, 6-2-1 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,12,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Maddock, J.R. 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