Positive health effects of Stone Pine furniture

INNOVATION by INTUIT ION

The positive characteristics of the wood known as “the Queen of the Alps” (Stone or Cembran Pine;

lat.: pinus cembra) has been valued and used for centuries. For the first time this know-how

has been subjected to an experimental scientific analysis. In a blind study on 30

healthy adults – under the auspices of an inter-regional research

program – scientists of HUMAN RESEARCH

evaluated the effects of Stone Pine on

stress and the ability to recover.

HUMAN RESEARCHInstitute of Health Technology and Prevention Research

Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Maximilian MoserFranz-Pichler-Straße 30, A-8160 Weiz

Tel.: +43 3172 44111-0 • Fax: +43 3172 44111-11office@humanresearch.atwww.humanresearch.at

Inter-regional project partners Tiroler Waldbesitzerverband

Brixner Strasse 1, A-6021 Innsbruck, Austria

Phone +43 512 5929-277 (-279)

Fax +43 512 5929-208 (-275)

wbv.tirol@lk-tirol.at

Südtiroler Bauernbund

Schlachthofstrasse 4/D, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy

Phone +39 471 99 93 27

Fax +39 471 99 93 78

dirz@sbb.it

with the participation of Möbeltischlerei Binder Ges.m.b.H. & Co KG

Bergstrasse 4, A-8160 Weiz / Preding, Austria

Phone +43 3172 25 63

moebel.binder@utanet.at

www.moebel-binder.at

Forstbetrieb Imst der ÖBF-AG, A-6460 Imst, Austria

Landesdomänenverwaltung Bozen, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy

Fürstlich Schwarzenberg’sche Forstverwaltung Steiermark

A-8850 Murau, Austria

Bündner Waldwirtschaftsverband SELVA, CH-7001 Chur, Switzerland

Financed by European Union

Province of Tyrol

Republic of Italy

Autonomous Province of Bolzano

Own funds

ContactHUMAN RESEARCH

Institute of Health Technology and Prevention Research

Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Maximilian Moser

Franz-Pichler-Straße 30, A-8160 Weiz

Tel.: +43 3172 44111-0 • Fax: +43 3172 44111-11

office@humanresearch.at

www.humanresearch.at

Sleep phases [30 min units]

Hea

rt fr

eque

ncy

[bea

ts/m

in]

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ownbed

Stone Pine bed

Wood imitation bed

Institute of Health Technology

and Prevention Research

Stone PinePositive health effects

of Stone Pine furniture

HUMAN RESEARCHInstitute of Health Technology and Prevention Research

Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Maximilian MoserFranz-Pichler-Straße 30, A-8160 Weiz

Tel.: +43 3172 44111-0 • Fax: +43 3172 44111-11office@humanresearch.atwww.humanresearch.at

HR

I002

v1.1

pus

Heart frequency during the course of the night 

Archive GROHAG

Sleep phases [30 min units]

Mea

n va

gus

activ

ity [l

ogRS

Arr

in m

s]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.40

1.45

1.50

1.55

1.60

1.35

Own bed

Stone Pine bed

Wood imitation bed

Autonomic recovery during the course of the night

Harvard step test to determine biological cost of stress

The application of the most modern sensor technologies

and evaluation methods of the Human Research Institute

(HRI) opens new possibilities in the measurement of stress

and recovery in the normal daily routine, whether at work,

during spare time or during sleep. The measuring method

repertoire used and constantly further developed at the

Institute makes it possible (among other things) to observe

the autonomous nervous system as well as functions of

the brain-stem in a non-invasive manner.

The heart frequency is the most important control variable

in a complex regulatory network, in which heart, blood cir-

culation, respiration, temperature, metabolism and psy-

chosomatic influences are involved. This gives the heart

frequency its typical temporal structure, which becomes

measurable as heart frequency variability.

Experimental procedureA balanced, crossed repetitive measuring design was car-

ried out under psychological and physical stress situations

in the laboratory over 24 hours in everyday life situations

of the test subjects. With the help of high resolution

electro cardiogram recorders the heart frequency and its

varia bility, vegetative parameters and the biological

rhythms characteristic of recovery were investigated.

Psychometric methods were implemented for the

measure ment of well-being, vigilance and subjective sleep

quality.

Stress and recovery ability in Stone Pine roomFor the battery of tests carried out in the lab significant

differences were found between the quality of recovery of

subjects spending time in Stone Pine rooms and those in

identically arranged “wood imitation” rooms. This

ex pressed itself in a lower heart rate during physical and

mental stress situations and following rest phases and /or

during an accelerated autonomic recovery process. The

heart frequency of the test subjects in the wood imitation

room is dependent on the atmospheric pressure. This

meteorosensitivity is a sign of an unstable circulation. In

the Stone Pine room the heart rate seems to be independ-

ent of the atmospheric pressure.

Quality of sleep in the Stone Pine bedIn the second study a possible influence of the bed

ma terial on the quality of sleep was investigated. The

volunteers spent their nights, this time for a longer peri-

od (~3 weeks), first in a Stone Pine (green), then in their

own bed and /or in a wood imitation bed (red). The

long-term investigation confirmed a significant influence

of the construction material on the physical and psycho-

logical condition. The sleep quality was clearly improved

in the Stone Pine bed compared to that of the wood

imitation bed.

The improved recuperation was accompanied by a

reduced heart frequency and an increased oscillation of

the organism in the course of the day. The average

“saving” in the Stone Pine bed was about 3,500 heart-

beats per day, which corresponds to about an hour’s

“heart-work”. The subjective feeling of well-being of the

test subjects matched these physiological results: The

Stone Pine subjects reported feeling more relaxed, feel-

ing generally fitter and, surprisingly, were socially more

extraverted than beforehand. Could this be a reason

why pubs and other social rooms (in this region) were

panelled with Stone Pine in former times?

Material for furnishing would appear to have a more

signi ficant effect on well-being and health than hitherto

imagined. This opens up new fields of application for the

high-grade wood of the “Queen of the Alps”.

high

low

inte

nsity

7.83 [ms2]

6.36 [ms2]

5.18 [ms2]

3.2:1 [-]

0.959 [ms]

50.4 [ms]

87.7 [S/min]

6.34[–]

frequency

[Hz]

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

10505

10

1:101:51:21:12:15:1

10:1strain

recovery

5

0

200

50

100

150

2468

1012

Supine pos. 1

Supine pos. 3

Questionnaire

Standing pos. 1

Vigilance test

Demo Vigil

Supine pos. 2

Standing pos. 2

Step test

11:15:00 11:30:00 11:45:00 12:00:00 12:15:00 12:30:00 12:45:00 13:00:00time

ChronoCardioGramm

lntotRR

, lnLFRR

, lnHFRR

activation

SDNNRR

, logRSARR

heart rate [bpm]

pulse respiration ratio

activity log

Autonomic balance in different beds (blue reflects recovery periods)

Institute and methodsStone Pine – the natural way to a good night’s sleep!

ChronoCord – high resolution ECG recorder

Physical stress test in the Stone Pine room

ChronoCardioGramm of the entire measurement in the Stone Pine room

1-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

23

46

89

1112

1422 28

23Person

Difference in heart frequency[Stone Pine — wood imitation: 25 h mean]6

Difference in heart frequency[ beats / min ]

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

Impr

ovem

ent

Deg

rada

tion

12:00 16:00 20:00 24:00 4:00 8:00 12:00Time of day

Difference:3,490 beats / day (3.16 %)

SLEEP

Saving of “heart-work” during the course of the day by sleep in the Stone Pine bed

Wo

od

imit

atio

nS

tone

Pin

e