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Nature Therapy Lab
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A lab that measures the body's responses to contact with nature and scientifically verifies its relaxation effects.
AboutAbout the lab
The human body is designed to suit nature.
The Nature Therapy Lab studies "human-nature interaction" by measuring the body's responses.
The lab examines brain, autonomic nervous system, hormonal, and immune function when people are exposed to forests, parks, wood, flowers, and more, and verifies the physiological relaxation effects that nature provides.
The lab combines field experiments conducted on site in forests and other settings with laboratory experiments that use stimuli for each of the five senses.
Recently, the lab has focused on clarifying individual differences in these effects and on applications for people under severe stress.
Key terms
- Autonomic nervous system
- The nerves that regulate heartbeat, blood pressure, digestion, and more, independent of one's will
- Near-infrared spectroscopy
- A method that shines weak near-infrared light from outside the head and measures brain activity from changes in cerebral blood flow
- Cortisol
- A hormone that increases under stress. It can be measured from saliva
NewsLab news
Paper showing that touching a wooden conference table by hand relaxes the brain published in Journal of Wood Science
Paper, written jointly with Himeji University, on the relaxation effect of the taste of wagyu beef published in Scientific Reports
Paper, written jointly with Nomura Real Estate, on the effects of sea views from high floors published in Buildings
Paper evaluating the mental health effects of agricultural volunteer tourism published in Journal of Global Tourism Research
Paper on the effects of a small green space next to a clinic published in Frontiers in Environmental Health
ResearchResearch themes
The basic idea of nature therapy is the "preventive medicine effect": natural environments and nature-derived stimuli bring physiological relaxation and improve weakened immune function. The lab accumulates data by combining measurements of the brain, the autonomic nervous system, and more.
*Illustrative imageComfort Evaluation System
The lab combines measurements of brain activity by near-infrared spectroscopy, autonomic nervous activity by heart rate variability, endocrine activity such as salivary cortisol, and immune activity, to collect data on how nature affects the human body.
*Illustrative imageUrban Forest Bathing
In cities, which are typical artificial environments, the lab investigates the physiological relaxation effects of nature-derived stimuli such as parks, balconies, wooden products, flowers, and scents, and proposes ways to use them. Joint research with companies is also under way in Tokyo.
*Illustrative imageSustainable Nature Therapy
The lab advances the concept of "sustainable nature therapy," which builds in environmental, cultural, social, and economic sustainability, and is expanding collaborative research with researchers in other fields.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Nature Therapy Lab include faculty, project researchers, and advisors.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorHarumi Ikei
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Forest trail in the Karura Forest, Nairobi” Brihaspati / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Comfort Evaluation System: “Polar RS400 Heart Rate Monitor” Bill Ebbesen, aka Atomicbre at English Wikipedia / Public domain (cropped)
- Urban Forest Bathing: “Green Park , avenue of trees - geograph.org.uk - 7902783” Jim Osley / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Sustainable Nature Therapy: “Slow - Garibaldi thinning ( )” Sam Beebe / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (花卉園芸学研究グループ（柏の
葉） ): “Petunia x hybrida” kallerna / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (健康機能園芸学研究室
（野田研究室） ): “Yoorala Street Community Garden, plots 2” Aliceinthealice / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (農業
デザイン研究室 （三輪正幸研究室） ): “Apis mellifera - Melilotus albus - Keila” Ivar Leidus / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (蔬菜園芸学研究グループ（柏の
葉） ): “Greenhouse filled with tomato plants and a bucket on the path” Shixart1985 / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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