Can Residential Greenspace Exposure Improve Pain Experience? A Comparison between Physical Visit and Image Viewing
Reducing the burden of pain via greenspace exposure is a rising research topic. However, insufficient evidence has been found in relation to the environmental effect itself. Residential greenspace, as a convenient but limited natural environment for urban dwellers, has benefits and services yet to b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/7/918 |
| _version_ | 1797527056403136512 |
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| author | Hansen Li Xing Zhang Shilin Bi Yang Cao Guodong Zhang |
| author_facet | Hansen Li Xing Zhang Shilin Bi Yang Cao Guodong Zhang |
| author_sort | Hansen Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reducing the burden of pain via greenspace exposure is a rising research topic. However, insufficient evidence has been found in relation to the environmental effect itself. Residential greenspace, as a convenient but limited natural environment for urban dwellers, has benefits and services yet to be discovered. Therefore, the current study recruited 24 young adults to evaluate the effects of physical visit to, or image viewing of, residential greenspace on pain perception and related psychophysiological outcomes, via simulated pain. Pain threshold and tolerance were recorded via the level of pain stimuli, and pain intensity was evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The state scale of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and two adjective pairs were employed to measure the state anxiety and subjective stress, respectively. Meanwhile, heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and blood pressure (BP) were measured to investigate physiological responses. Besides, Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) was also employed to assess participants’ preference regarding the experimental environments. The results revealed that visiting the greenspace significantly increased the pain threshold and tolerance, while no significant effect was observed for image viewing. On the other hand, no significant difference was observed in pain-related psychophysiological indices between the experimental settings, but significantly negative associations were found between the scores of SBE and subjective stress and state anxiety. In conclusion, the current study brings experimental evidence of improving pain experience via residential greenspace exposure, while the related psychophysiological benefits require further investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:38:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ccf0834e5b6c407e91430af23103f89d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:38:37Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-ccf0834e5b6c407e91430af23103f89d2023-11-22T03:53:22ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322021-07-019791810.3390/healthcare9070918Can Residential Greenspace Exposure Improve Pain Experience? A Comparison between Physical Visit and Image ViewingHansen Li0Xing Zhang1Shilin Bi2Yang Cao3Guodong Zhang4Institute of Sports Science, College of Physical Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaDepartment of Basketball and Volleyball, Chengdu Sport University, Chengdu 610041, ChinaNational Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, SingaporeClinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medical Sciences, Örebro Universitet, 70182 Örebro, SwedenInstitute of Sports Science, College of Physical Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaReducing the burden of pain via greenspace exposure is a rising research topic. However, insufficient evidence has been found in relation to the environmental effect itself. Residential greenspace, as a convenient but limited natural environment for urban dwellers, has benefits and services yet to be discovered. Therefore, the current study recruited 24 young adults to evaluate the effects of physical visit to, or image viewing of, residential greenspace on pain perception and related psychophysiological outcomes, via simulated pain. Pain threshold and tolerance were recorded via the level of pain stimuli, and pain intensity was evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The state scale of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and two adjective pairs were employed to measure the state anxiety and subjective stress, respectively. Meanwhile, heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and blood pressure (BP) were measured to investigate physiological responses. Besides, Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) was also employed to assess participants’ preference regarding the experimental environments. The results revealed that visiting the greenspace significantly increased the pain threshold and tolerance, while no significant effect was observed for image viewing. On the other hand, no significant difference was observed in pain-related psychophysiological indices between the experimental settings, but significantly negative associations were found between the scores of SBE and subjective stress and state anxiety. In conclusion, the current study brings experimental evidence of improving pain experience via residential greenspace exposure, while the related psychophysiological benefits require further investigation.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/7/918urban greenspaceresidential greenspacenature exposurepainexperimental pain |
| spellingShingle | Hansen Li Xing Zhang Shilin Bi Yang Cao Guodong Zhang Can Residential Greenspace Exposure Improve Pain Experience? A Comparison between Physical Visit and Image Viewing Healthcare urban greenspace residential greenspace nature exposure pain experimental pain |
| title | Can Residential Greenspace Exposure Improve Pain Experience? A Comparison between Physical Visit and Image Viewing |
| title_full | Can Residential Greenspace Exposure Improve Pain Experience? A Comparison between Physical Visit and Image Viewing |
| title_fullStr | Can Residential Greenspace Exposure Improve Pain Experience? A Comparison between Physical Visit and Image Viewing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can Residential Greenspace Exposure Improve Pain Experience? A Comparison between Physical Visit and Image Viewing |
| title_short | Can Residential Greenspace Exposure Improve Pain Experience? A Comparison between Physical Visit and Image Viewing |
| title_sort | can residential greenspace exposure improve pain experience a comparison between physical visit and image viewing |
| topic | urban greenspace residential greenspace nature exposure pain experimental pain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/7/918 |
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