Clarification of the effects of viewing plants and natural scenery on human physiological functions

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There are many case studies which show that human psychology is affected by changes in visual stimulation, or by seeing a particular green landscape. This study aimed to clarify the effect of green landscape on stress reduction with a focus on medical aspects, by using various kinds of green landscape from an urban area as the materials and human physiological functions as a measurement of stress reduction. The results show that:The cortisol tests indicated that changes in stress reduction were smaller in the group of subjects shown photos with more green landscape compared to those shown photos with less green landscape, suggesting that green landscape keeps human physiological changes at a stable level. The results of the amylase tests, which used salivary amylase as an indicator of stress, suggest that viewing green landscape is likely to have short-term stress-reducing effects on people.Subjects with high blood pressure showed a reduction in blood pressure when shown images of lawn area or a field of lavender. However, the blood pressure of subjects with low blood pressure showed no changes. The density of the saliva was reduced when the subject was shown images of lawn area. Moreover, the impression evaluations of "Calm" and "Settled Down" were strong on the images of lawn area, as were the impression evaluations of "It was interesting" and "It is pungent" for the images of a field of lavender. When the results were analysed, it was determined that the lawn area was considered a place of "rest" and a field of lavender as a place of "Diversion of mind".