Association between forest and greenspace walking and stress-coping skills among workers of Tsukuba Science City, Japan: A cross-sectional study

The Inverse Association between the Frequency of Forest Walking (Shinrin-yoku) and the Prevalence of Insomnia Symptoms in the General Japanese Population: A Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Daiko Study

Since a single forest walk (Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing) session is reported to improve sleep temporarily, occasional forest walks may have a positive effect on daily sleep. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether more frequent forest walking is associated with better daily sleep conditions. Data from the second survey of the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC) Daiko Study conducted among residents of Nagoya City, Japan, were used. The study design was a cross-sectional study. In total, 2044 participants (529 men and 1515 women; age, mean ± standard deviation: 58.8 ± 9.9 years) were included in the analysis. Frequent forest walks were associated with a low percentage of insomnia symptoms (Insomnia Severity Index ≥10) in women, but not in men. The adjusted odds ratio for the group that rarely took forest walks with reference to the group that engaged in the activity once a month or more often was 2.04 (95% confidence interval: 1.29-3.23) in women. Forest walk frequency was not significantly associated with sleep duration or sleep efficiency as measured by actigraphy in either men or women. In conclusion, the results suggested that increasing the frequency of forest walks or Shinrin-yoku may be effective in preventing insomnia in women.

Exploring how greenspace programmes might be effective in supporting people with problem substance use: a realist interview study

BACKGROUND

Greenspace programmes are health projects run outside in nature, typically with the aim of improving mental health. Research suggests that programmes may also be effective in supporting people with problem substance use (PSU), but there is limited understanding of the key components that make them successful for this client group. Previous work has claimed that a realist-informed intervention framework for greenspace programmes for mental health could be transferable to programmes that support people with PSU, and that this could provide insight into the causal processes within programmes. However, this claim is yet to be explored in depth. The aim of this study was to further test, refine, and consolidate the proposed framework to show how greenspace programmes could support people with PSU.

METHODS

Using a realist approach, 17 participants (8 programme staff; 9 wider stakeholders) were interviewed about contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes (CMOs) relative to greenspace programmes for mental health and PSU. Semi-structured interviews were used since they facilitated exploration of the proposed framework but were flexible enough to allow identification of new CMOs for framework refinement. Interviews were audio-recorded, fully transcribed, and analysed inductively and deductively against the proposed framework.

RESULTS

Findings supported the proposed framework and indicated that greenspace programmes support people with poor mental health and PSU due to: feelings of escape; space to reflect; physical activity; self-efficacy; feelings of purpose; relationships; and shared experiences. However, data showed that programmes must also consider: explicit intervention focus to ensure adequate support for clients; existing challenges with funding and stakeholder buy-in; and the impact of COVID-19. Findings allowed development of a refined framework that shows how greenspace programmes can support people with PSU.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this project are theoretically novel and have practical relevance for those designing greenspace programmes by providing recommendations on how to optimise, tailor, and implement future interventions. Findings could be particularly relevant for academic researchers, multidisciplinary health professionals, and for those working in the third sector, developing and delivering greenspace programmes for people to improve their mental health and to support them with PSU.

Remaining Human in COVID-19: Dialogues on Psychogeography

Post-COVID-19 environments have challenged our embodied identities with these challenges coming from a variety of domains, that is, microbiological, semiotic, and digital. We are embedded in a new complex set of relations, with other species, with cultural signs, and with technology and venturing further into an era that pushes back on our anthropocentrism to create a post-human dystopia. This does not imply that we are less human or forfeit ethics in this state of flux, but can lead to considering new ways of being alive and humanists. The aim of this project was to explore walking through our associated psychogeographies as captured in photographs and text from individual walks, as the means by which to characterize responses to the distress of the pandemic and to assess resistance to non-being. The psychogeographies were the starting points for our dialogic enquiry between authors who each represent living theory, representing their own emergent knowledge, inseparable from personal commitments and history. Walking and the associated images and reflections, provided a way to regulate our affect, reconnecting with our bodies, leading to understand and adapt to new meanings of context and ways of coping and healing in this new becoming. The interdisciplinarity of philosophy, social psychology, botany, and clinical psychology is nonetheless rejected in favour of multi-vocality; each author representing their own emergent, living theory, inseparable from personal commitments, and history.