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<p>In today’s increasingly urbanized world, children are becoming progressively disconnected from nature—an issue linked to rising stress levels and mental health concerns.This study examines both the bodily and emotional relaxation effects of a basic gardening task—watering a houseplant—versus a digital cognitive task, using a randomized within-subjects crossover design.A total of 1,000 healthy primary school students (mean age 12.4 ± 0.5 years) from Wenjiang High School, China, participated in the experiment.Participants were randomly allocated to perform the gardening task or the comparison activity on the first day, and then transitioned to the alternate activity on the second day, ensuring exposure to both conditions.Physiological responses were assessed immediately after each task and included systolic blood pressure, autonomic nervous system markers, and electroencephalogram (EEG) brainwave activity.Mental states were evaluated through the Semantic Differential Method (SDM), which assesses emotional and perceptual responses.Paired-sample t-tests were used for physiological data (significance threshold: <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05), and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for SDM scores (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.01).The horticultural task led to significant decreases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05), with pulse rate showing no significant variation (<i>p</i> &gt; 0.05).EEG results showed increased brainwave activity, indicating greater physical calm and improved mental focus.On the psychological side, SDM scores revealed that participants reported notably greater feelings of relaxation, naturalness, and emotional positivity following the horticultural task compared to the control condition (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.01).The results of this study clearly demonstrate that even short, school-based gardening activities can produce meaningful physical and mental calming effects in children.</p>

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The Power of Plants: Physiological and Psychological Relaxation Through Horticultural Activities in Children

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月31日

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  • Zhao Qianqian,
  • Ahmad Hassan

摘要

In today’s increasingly urbanized world, children are becoming progressively disconnected from nature—an issue linked to rising stress levels and mental health concerns.This study examines both the bodily and emotional relaxation effects of a basic gardening task—watering a houseplant—versus a digital cognitive task, using a randomized within-subjects crossover design.A total of 1,000 healthy primary school students (mean age 12.4 ± 0.5 years) from Wenjiang High School, China, participated in the experiment.Participants were randomly allocated to perform the gardening task or the comparison activity on the first day, and then transitioned to the alternate activity on the second day, ensuring exposure to both conditions.Physiological responses were assessed immediately after each task and included systolic blood pressure, autonomic nervous system markers, and electroencephalogram (EEG) brainwave activity.Mental states were evaluated through the Semantic Differential Method (SDM), which assesses emotional and perceptual responses.Paired-sample t-tests were used for physiological data (significance threshold: p < 0.05), and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for SDM scores (p < 0.01).The horticultural task led to significant decreases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.05), with pulse rate showing no significant variation (p > 0.05).EEG results showed increased brainwave activity, indicating greater physical calm and improved mental focus.On the psychological side, SDM scores revealed that participants reported notably greater feelings of relaxation, naturalness, and emotional positivity following the horticultural task compared to the control condition (p < 0.01).The results of this study clearly demonstrate that even short, school-based gardening activities can produce meaningful physical and mental calming effects in children.