Journal of Depression and Anxiety
Open Access

Abstract

Effects of Practicing Ikebana on Anxiety and Respiration

Ikuo Homma, Reito Oizumi and Yuri Masaoka

Handwork is useful in psychosocial rehabilitation. Working with flowers is especially beneficial because people can observe the beauty of the flowers. Ikebana, the Japanese traditional art of flower arrangement, is considered beneficial to mind-body health. In this study, we examined the emotional state and respiration in 10 healthy subjects before and after practicing Ikebana. State anxiety, pleasant/unpleasant feelings and respiratory rate (RR) were measured before and after flower arranging. Subjects in the high trait anxiety group showed a statistically significant decrease in state anxiety score, unpleasant feelings and RR as well as an increase in pleasant feelings after practicing Ikebana. There were no significant differences in these parameters before and after flower arranging for subjects in the low trait anxiety group. The results suggest that Ikebana is beneficial in reducing stressful feelings and anxiety, with these changes reflected in lower RR.