There is a moment of awe that washes over you when you step into a forest. Century-old trees tower above, sunlight twinkling through them. Birds tweet. Spiders weave their elaborate webs. The smell of pine needles fill the air.
The act of spending time in the forest is what the Japanese call shinrin-yoku, a term originating in the 1980s that means “bathing in the forest atmosphere,” says Qing Li, a researcher on this topic and a professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo. “This is not exercise or hiking or jogging,” he writes in his 2018 book Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness. “It is simply being in nature, connecting with it through our sense of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.”
Not only is “forest bathing” a magical way to explore nature, decades of research has shown that it’s good for your health. It can boost your immune system, lower blood pressure and help with depression. It can also reduce the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline and turn down the dial on your body’s fight-or-flight response.
Li and Gary Evans, director of the Forest Bathing Institute in the U.K., talk to Life Kit about the science behind forest bathing and how you can reap these health benefits.
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195337204/a-guide-to-forest-bathing
FURTHER READING
The state of our mind, designs the state of our life. In this post we look at the Japanese practice of Forest Bathing – a simple way to relax your mind, revitalise your body, and rediscover your Self. The article answers important questions about Forest Bathing, its principles and its practice. Fascinating insights from Japan as a society show us why forest bathing has become specially relevant in today’s turbulent times and how we can benefit from it.
Forest bathing in nature allows the stressed portions of your brain to relax.
Positive hormones are released in the body.
You feel less sad, angry and anxious.
It helps to avoid stress and burnout, and aids in fighting depression and anxiety.
A forest bath is known to boost immunity and leads to lesser days of illness as well as faster recovery from injury or surgery.
Nature has a positive effect on our mind as well as body.
It improves heart and lung health, and is known to increases focus, concentration and memory.
https://healingforest.org/2020/01/27/forest-bathing-guide/
Whether you call it a fitness trend or a mindfulness practice (or a bit of both), what exactly is forest bathing? The term emerged in Japan in the 1980s as a physiological and psychological exercise called shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing” or “taking in the forest atmosphere”). The purpose was twofold: to offer an eco-antidote to tech-boom burnout and to inspire residents to reconnect with and protect the country’s forests.
The Japanese quickly embraced this form of ecotherapy. In the 1990s, researchers began studying the physiological benefits of forest bathing, providing the science to support what we innately know: time spent immersed in nature is good for us. While Japan is credited with the term shinrin-yoku, the concept at the heart of the practice is not new. Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/forest-bathing-nature-walk-health
The Science of the Forest
It appears that trees and plants do more than release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. In a study that appeared in the Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine Journal, researchers conducted field experiments in 24 forests in Japan. Half the participants entered the study environs and experienced a forest, the other half walked in an urban area. On the following day, the participants switched; half of them walked in and experienced an urban area, and the other half walked in and experienced the forest. The results showed that being in a forest environment, as opposed to an urban environment, lowered cortisol, pulse rate, and blood pressure. The forest also promoted greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity. As a result, their bodies became much more relaxed.
A study conducted by researchers at King’s College London, and published in the journal BioScience, found that participants in urban areas boosted their own well-being just by looking up at the sky, being exposed to trees and plants, and hearing birds chirp. These plusses stayed with the subjects for several hours after the exposure to nature.
What are phytoncides?
Trees and plants emit phytoncides, essential oils that protect flora from parasites and germs. There are different types of phytoncides including alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, camphene, among others. These are natural antimicrobials that also benefit the human body; when we breathe in phytoncides, our bodies get a boost. Phytoncides increase natural killer cell activity and promote higher immunity. They work as anti-inflammatories that reduce oxidative stress, enhance sleep via alpha-pinene, reduce cortisol levels, and reduce blood glucose levels.
UNIVERSE 