Wood material and human health. Role of wood material on human health

Wood is a material derived from the trunk and branches of a tree. Trees are complex living organisms that must perform multiple functions (biological, mechanical, etc.) in order to develop. To do so, it manufactures a material of its own making - wood - which it endows with high-performance properties (chemical, physical, etc.). Some of these properties induce different impacts in human beings (sensory, psychological, physiological, etc.), the positive effects of which promote human health and well-being. In any case, this is what the conclusions of numerous studies carried out since the 2000s attest. Many beneficial effects of wood, trees and forests have been observed.

What's more, the growing number of studies on this subject testifies to a growing interest in the relationship that this material enables humans to maintain with living beings and nature. The link between wood and human beings is an ancestral one, since the first humans lived mainly in forests (primitive habitats, handicrafts, construction, etc.). However, with the evolution of modern lifestyles, this link is tending to disappear in most of today's civilizations. The challenge of better understanding wood-human interactions is to capitalize on these positive effects. We can thus imagine introducing them into human habitats and thereby ensuring well-being, comfort or a "regained" state of health. In addition to its technological properties (construction, furniture, instruments, tools, etc.), wood generates sensations and stimuli in human beings, which research has attempted to quantify, albeit with some difficulty.

Despite the sense of well-being that wood naturally brings to both indoor and outdoor spaces, this material may also suffer from a negative image in the hospital and food sectors, limiting its use in these areas by 2022.

The aim of this article on the effects of wood on human health is to present a summary of the latest scientific findings, including any contradictory aspects. Engineers and researchers in the building, furnishing, interior renovation, food contact packaging and hospital construction sectors, etc. will thus have the scientific data they need to make an informed choice of material.