The Graphical modeling of the physiological and psychological effects of odors on the human body during a footbath

摘要

This research examined the effect of two different odors (Lemon and Hinoki) on the human body whilst the subjects took a footbath. The subjects were ten healthy college students (male). The experiment was divided into two periods. The first was the baseline period of 5 minutes during which the students merely remained seated. During the second period the students continued to remain seated but immersed their feet in a footbath for 11 minutes. At the same time the students were exposed to different odors. Lemon was used for the odor termed ‘pleasant’ and Hinoki was used for the odor termed ‘Japanese bath’. The results of our experiments showed that the use of both lemon and Hinoki odors significantly increased body temperature (36 degree). Using Graphical modeling we found a correlation between the use of different odors and subjects'' impressions of the heat of the water in the footbath. Use of both the pleasant and Japanese bath odors showed a notable effect on the subjects'' physiological and psychological performance. Especially at 36 degree Hinoki odor has a lot of relationship to physiological parameter, at 40degree lemon odor has a lot of relationship to physiological parameter. Based on the results of this experiment, we designed a preliminary graphical model of the effects of the different odors on the human body.