Objective: To explore gender differences in physical and mental relaxation in subjects who watched a forest relaxation video.
Methods: The subjects were 12 males and 12 females in their 20’s, with an average age of 21.67±1.00 and 21.42±1.56, respectively. They rested for 5 minutes, and then watched either a forest relaxation video or control video (grey screen, no sound). After the video session, they rested again for 5 minutes. Thus, the total experimental duration was 20 minutes. Before and after the video session, subjects completed visual analog scales (VAS) on mood and Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires. Subjects also pointed out the most comfortable scenes on the video. In addition, we measured their heart rates. Analyses were based on the semantic differential (SD) technique.
Results: The heart rate of male subjects decreased just after watching the relaxation video (p<0.05–0.01), and the LnHF increased (p<0.05–0.01), indicating significant activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. Regarding VAS scales, the “refreshment” score increased in male subjects (p<0.01). In females, all three scores for “pleasantness”, “calmness”, and “refreshment” increased after watching the relaxation video (p<0.05–0.001). In addition, the “tension–anxiety” score of the POMS decreased after watching the video (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Both male and female subjects felt relaxed after the forest relaxation video. Especially, heart rate changes suggested that male subjects experienced relaxation after the video, whereas female subjects experienced mental relaxation.