Do Carpets Alleviate Stress?

BACKGROUND Owing to increased complexity in the evolution of society, stress has become an important public health problem, and is responsible for more than 30 types of diseases. Most of the research on stress conducted to date has focused on physical and psychological aspects; however, there are very few reports about the association between psychological stress and elements within the residential environment, such as the home, room, and furniture. Therefore, in this study, we 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. METHODS Forty-two healthy subjects were recruited for this study, and 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. RESULTS 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. CONCLUSION Walking on carpeting induces less stress than walking on wood flooring.