Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) is a cost-effective healing practice that has recently attracted the interest of social scientists who have attributed it, in part, to mental health benefits. Japanese university students suffer from high rates of mental health problems, and the number of suicides remains high despite the total number of suicides in Japan decreasing. Effective mental health approaches which increase mental wellbeing and self-compassion, and reduce associated deficits, such as loneliness, are sought after for Japanese students; however, healthful treatment has not been identified to date. Accordingly, this pre-post-pilot study evaluated the levels of mental wellbeing, self-compassion, and loneliness among 25 Japanese undergraduate students who participated in a three-day shinrin-yoku retreat in Fukushima. Measurements were taken prior, straight after, and two weeks post-intervention. One-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc analysis revealed that the mean scores of self-compassion, common humanity, and mindfulness increased statistically significantly from pre-retreat to follow-up. The mean scores of mental wellbeing and loneliness did not statistically significantly change. The positive effects on self-compassion indicate that shinrin-yoku retreat should be evaluated within a larger sample and in a shorter time frame to establish optimal shinrin-yoku parameters in this arena.

Shinrin-yoku（森林沐浴）是一种经济有效的治疗方法，最近引起了社会科学家的关注，他们将其部分归因于心理健康益处。日本大学生患有高水平的心理健康问题，尽管日本自杀总数下降，但自杀人数仍然很高。寻求日本学生有效的心理健康方法，以提高他们的心理健康和同情心，并减少相关的缺陷，例如孤独感；但是，迄今为止尚未确定健康的治疗方法。因此，这项试点前研究评估了参加福岛为期三天的新林优育务虚会的25名日本大学生的心理健康，自我同情和孤独感的水平。之前已进行过测量，紧接之后，以及干预后两个星期。单向方差分析与Tukey事后分析显示，从退休前到随访，自我同情，普通人和正念的平均得分在统计学上显着提高。心理健康和孤独感的平均得分没有统计学上的显着变化。对自我同情心的积极影响表明，应该在更大的样本中和更短的时间范围内评估Shinrin-yoku撤退，以在该领域中建立最佳的Shinrin-yoku参数。心理健康和孤独感的平均得分没有统计学上的显着变化。对自我同情心的积极影响表明，应该在更大的样本中和更短的时间范围内评估Shinrin-yoku撤退，以在该领域中建立最佳的Shinrin-yoku参数。心理健康和孤独感的平均得分没有统计学上的显着变化。对自我同情心的积极影响表明，应该在更大的样本中和更短的时间范围内评估Shinrin-yoku撤退，以在该领域中建立最佳的Shinrin-yoku参数。