• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.127-137
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• 2015

Recent research has shown that university students experience severe stress and depleted directed attention due to study, social relationships, and economic dependency. Based on the stress reduction theory and the attention restoration theory, this study aims to investigate the effects of natural landscape on university students' stress and cognitive performance through a wide array of measurements including GSR(galvanic skin responsse), IBI(interbeat interval), ZIPERS(Zucherman Inventory of Personal Reactions), and mental arithmetic test. The restorative effects of natural landscape were compared with those of urban landscape. 128 university students participated in the study, and the data of 120 students was analyzed. The results showed that natural landscape was more restorative in relieving psychological stress and in enhancing cognitive performance than urban landscape, which evidenced the restorative effects of natural landscape. Therefore, it could be proposed that natural landscaping of the university campus contributes to students' stress reduction and cognitive enhancement. But such effects were not found in the two physiological measures(both GSR and IBI). Moreover, it was analyzed that urban landscape had a more beneficial effect than natural landscape for IBI, which might resulted from the participants' characteristics and the study landscape. Specifically, the young age span of the participants(average 23.8 years old) and the very natural setting of the university where they were enrolled might lead to the conflicting results in physiological measures. Also, the urban landscape used in the study had a sense of "scope", which is one of the Kaplan and Kaplan's restorative characteristics. Based on this opinion, it was suggested that future study should investigate the impact of the landscape type and contents as well as the participants' characteristics on the restorative effects of natural landscape.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.21-34
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• 2007

Objectives: This study aims to examined whether physical activity prevent the negative effect of psychological stress on cardiovascular reactivity by reducing stress induced sympathetic output and preventing norepinephrine depletion negative psych-affective responses. It is assumed that physical activity reduces the magnitude of cardiovascular responses and psychological responses to stress which threaten individuals' physical and mental health. The result of investigating the effect of physical activity on reducing negative physiological and psychological responses would suggest useful information health for practitioners who want to prevent stress-induced diseases, especially coronary heart disease. Methods: participants of this study were 30 students (10 males & 20 females), whose mean age was 21.30 (SD=2.29). Fifteen students (5 males & 10 females) were assigned for in each group, treatment and control groups. They were interviewed and given a survey that included a consent form, demographics sheet and psychological tests, such as State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Before the application of psychological stress, participants in treatment group were going through with a course of physical exercise, running on treadmill 15minutes, while participants in control group were not physically active. After exercise, there was 15 minutes resting period before applying cognitive stress. During the experiment, all participants performed challenging cognitive tasks for 20minutes in situations that were designed to experience learned helplessness and measured their cardiovascular reactivity including blood pressure and heart rate every 5 minutes, until 10 minutes after finishing the application of psychological stress(recovering state). In the end of experiment, they were given some psychological test again. Results: Heart rates of exercise group were significantly higher than non-exercise group, especially, five minute after applying cognitive stress and at the end of recovery, in other word 10 minutes after stressful event. Systolic blood pressures of exercise group were lower than those of non-exercise group during the stressful event, but this differences in borderline level of significance. state anger level of exercise group decreased even experiencing stress, while those of non-exercise group increase. And state anxiety level of exercise group decreased in borderline level of significance. Conclusion: This study reiterate health benefits of physical activity and suggest that regular moderate exercise may regulate cardiovascular reactivity and psycho-affective responses from stress by reducing stress induced sympathetic output.