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Psychophysiological Impact of Touching Landscape Grass among Older Adults

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Abstract

Few studies have investigated plants’ healing effects, particularly through touch-based therapy, on older adults. As hypertension rates continue to climb worldwide, touch-based therapy for hypertension prevention has become a significant priority in public health initiatives. This study investigated the impact of tactile interaction with real grass (a landscape activity) versus artificial grass on older adults’ physical and cognitive abilities. Employing a within-subject design, we assessed the physiological and emotional effects of touching real grass versus artificial glass for 10 min. Study participants included 50 Chinese individuals, with an average age of 85.64 ± 3.72 years. Measurements included blood pressure, electroencephalogram, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and standard deviation (SD). Analyzing the SD data revealed that participants experienced a heightened sense of relaxation and calmness after touching real grass, compared to artificial grass. Furthermore, the participants’ brainwave patterns—measured in mean power units—exhibited an upward trend while interacting with real grass, whereas they exhibited a downward trend during the interaction with artificial grass. Moreover, the mean systolic blood pressure significantly decreased following interaction with real grass. These findings suggest that engaging with real grass through touch potentially alleviates mental stress, in contrast to the effects of artificial grass.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Chen Qibing and Prof. Liu Yinggao for their support during the experiment. We also wanna thank for Zhong Ziqin, Deng Li,Wang Min,Wang Yanting and Zhang Xiao-xia for assistance during experiment.

Funding

This study was sponsored (National Natural Science Foundation of China grant no. 32071824).

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  1. College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Ahmad Hassan & Zhang Deshun

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Hassan, A., Deshun, Z. Psychophysiological Impact of Touching Landscape Grass among Older Adults. J Urban Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-024-00875-7

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