Stressed? Walk on a Carpet…

Who would have thought that a little walk on a carpet can help reduce your stress level.

Hoki, Sato, and Kasai’s research “focused on the effects of indoor flooring in the residential environment on stress, as flooring is a feature that the human body is in contact with for long periods of time. We objectively measured the extent of psychological stress perceived while walking on carpeting and on wood flooring.” Study participants “were asked to walk on carpeting and wood flooring for 10 min each. Their electroencephalogram (EEG) and skin impedance values were measured for each task.The α-wave content percentage in EEG data and skin impedance values were significantly higher just after walking on carpet than just after walking on wood flooring.  Walking on carpeting induces less stress than walking on wood flooring.”

Yoko Hoki, Kunio Sato, and Yulchi Kasai.  2016. “Do Carpets Alleviate Stress?”  Iranian Journal of Public Health, vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 715-720.