The Effectiveness of MIND Diet and Forest Bathing on Stress Reduction

Summary

This clinical trial aims to explore the effectiveness of the Mediterranean DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet and Forest Bathing (FB) in reducing psychological stress among older Chinese individuals. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. what is the effect of FB on stress reduction
2. what is the effect of MIND on stress reduction

Participants of the MIND-FB group will participate will receive

1. FB: a two-hour FB session on four consecutive weekends in a country park,
2. MIND: four nutrition sessions, and adhere to the MIND diet for 12 weeks

Researchers will compare the FB and routine care groups to compare the effectiveness of MIND and FB in reducing psychological stress.

Conditions

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Stress
• Psychological Stress

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Forest Bathing (FB)

The forest bathing (FB) intervention will be comprised of four 2-hour sessions held in a country park on four consecutive weekends during the daytime. The FB sessions will cover 1-2 kilometers per forest visit. Participants will convene at the country park entrance. An FB guide will provide a briefing and commence the forest trip. Following 20 minutes for participants to slow down and share their experiences, they will be invited to mindfully center themselves using their five senses for another 20 minutes. Subsequently, the participants will be afforded 20 minutes to wander along a designated forest path, followed by another 20 minutes during which they will be encouraged to stroll in a designated area to help foster a deep connection with the forest. Participants will have a 20-minute interval between each activity to share their experiences. A tea ceremony will be held at the end of each FB session.

BEHAVIORAL

MIND diet

The participants will undertake four three-month nutrition programmes consisting of four nutrition counselling sessions in an activity room at each participating community centre. All intervention sessions will be conducted by a registered nutritionist. In the nutrition sessions, the participants will learn to modify their diet to meet the MIND diet guidelines. The MIND diet promotes 10 healthy food groups and limits five unhealthy food groups (Morris et al., 2015a; Arjmand et al., 2022). As a reference, a 7-day sample menu will be provided which meets the required number of servings per day.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hong Kong Metropolitan University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Fabian Ling Ngai Tung, PhD · Assistant Professor

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-07-03

Primary Completion

2024-08-31

Completion

2024-11-30

Countries

• Hong Kong

Study Locations