UBC Undergraduate Research

Health benefits of wood, plants and nature in the human environment : an analysis of the past 15 years of research and its application potential Fraser, Stephen

Abstract

The health benefits (psychological and physical) of wood, plants and views of nature in the human environment is a relatively new field of study. After an extensive literature review of the last 15 years, it is clear that there are significant health benefits associated with the presence of these natural elements in an indoor setting. Some of these benefits include reduced stress, increased pain tolerance, improved task performance, increased sense of well-being and attentional focus recovery, and heightened natural killer activity. Due to low awareness, these findings could be integrated into the marketing strategies of forest companies and their total product concept could be expanded to include health benefits. Additionally, the application potential is seemingly limitless and a look at hospitals and schools shows cost saving benefits as well. As this is a relatively young field of study, there are also areas for further research including long-term and large-scale studies.

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International