If you want to enjoy the benefits of the great outdoors, you should definitely add forest bathing to your to-do list. And don’t worry, you don’t have to live in a heavily forested area to benefit from this natural therapy. In fact, there are even many forest bathing sites in cities along with parks. The concept of forest bathing, which consists of exposing yourself to nature for physical, mental and emotional benefits, is quite timeless, but it is certainly very fashionable in recent years. It’s not hard to find a forest bathing book online or in bookstores, and you can even find youtube videos of forest bathing. One of the most impressive effects of forest bathing is its ability to promote relaxation and reduce stress, which is huge since stress plays a role in many acute and chronic illnesses.
What are forest bathing?
Forest bathing is also called shinrin-yoku. In Japanese, shinrin means “forest” and yoku means “bath.” So if you put all of that together, shinrin plus yoku equals forest bathing or bathing in a forest setting enjoying your surroundings using all your senses. What is tree bath? Some people also call forest bathing “tree bathing” or “natural therapy.” Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing is said to have officially started in the early 1980s in Japan, where it is still a form of preventative medicine and natural treatment today. From an anthropological point of view (study of humanity), forest bathing or natural therapy have been practiced by various tribes and cultures since the dawn of time.
When you practice forest bathing, you’re not trying to get in a workout that will make you break a sweat or get to the end of a long road. Rather, you are simply connecting with the nature around you. Today, nature therapy is practiced all over the world, in all kinds of beautiful forests. Japan remains one of the regions of the world that unsurprisingly appreciates forest bathing. It is a country that currently has more than 60 forest therapy camps. To take a forest bath, you immerse yourself in a naturally beautiful and healthy forest environment, using your different senses (sight, hearing, smell, etc.). It is a very peaceful and positive experience with scientifically proven health benefits, which I am about to share with you.
It’s known as Japanese forest bathing, but other ancient medical systems are no doubt fans of the practice, including traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) views humans as inseparable from nature and places great importance on staying in touch with our natural environment. Many TCM practitioners consider our bodies to be a reflection of the natural world. Forest bathing or natural therapy is a popular method of maintaining homeostasis in the body, as are other traditional Chinese medicine practices, such as acupuncture.
Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes universal interconnectedness, or the idea of a connection between people, their health, and the universe. Yoga is one of the many natural ways Ayurveda uses to maintain this interconnectedness, and today yoga is associated with forest bathing. While some people choose to walk or sit in their forest surroundings, others choose to give their forest bathing an Ayurvedic twist and practice yoga in the forest.
health benefits
1. Boost immune function
Forest bathing is definitely on the list of weird ways to stop an infection and boost the immune system. A scientific study published in 2010, titled “Effect of Forest Bathing Trips on Human Immune Function,” reveals that spending time in nature can significantly stimulate the activity of blood cells called Natural Killer (NK) cells. This is huge because NK cells help fight viruses and tumor cells.
The study reveals that three days of bathing in the forest increased the subjects’ NK activity, NK cell count, and intracellular levels of cancer-fighting proteins. These positive effects of forest bathing are attributed to phytoncides, which are essentially antimicrobial wood essential oils from trees such as alpha-pinene and limonene.
Previous scientific research in humans has also shown that phytoncide exposure can significantly increase NK cell activity, while reducing stress hormone levels and increasing the expression of cancer-fighting proteins. It is not uncommon to find cancer patients taking forest baths, as being in the forest can not only decrease stress and anxiety associated with cancer.
2. Lower blood pressure
High blood pressure or hypertension is not a condition to ignore. Fortunately, there are many natural ways to control high blood pressure. Shinrin yoku forest bathing has been shown to help lower blood pressure. Researchers who published a study on forest bathing in 2011 already knew that forest settings are known to reduce stress hormones such as adrenaline and norepinephrine and produce an overall relaxing effect, but they wanted to know more.
In their small clinical study, these researchers examined how walking in a forest setting affected cardiovascular and metabolic parameters in 16 healthy male subjects. The results were very positive: habitual walking in a forest environment appears to lower blood pressure by decreasing sympathetic nerve activity. Forest bathing also had positive effects on stress hormone levels.
3. Improves the health of the nervous system
Forest bathing is also known to have a positive effect on heart rate variability. This effect is very important for the health of the nervous system, since heart rate variability (the variation in the time interval between heartbeats) is an indicator of the health of the balance between the sympathetic nervous system (whose main function is to activate the physiological system changes that occur during the fight or flight response) and the parasympathetic system (also called the “rest and digest system” or “recovery system” because it lowers blood pressure and heart rate). Maintaining a balance between the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic system is key to avoiding a constant state of fight-or-flight stress, and it’s not surprising that forest bathing seems to help maintain this healthy balance of the nervous system.
4. Reduce stress
Trees are known to infuse the air with compounds that can have very positive effects on humans. These compounds are called phytoncides, and a study published in 2009 found that they can effectively reduce stress hormone levels in both men and women. How to get phytoncide by taking a forest bath? Just breathe the good forest air!
5. Improves mental health
A review published in 2015 démontre une fois de plus that nous ne pouvons vraiment pas orublier de passer du temps à l’extérieur, d’autant plus that de plus en plus de personnes vivent dans des zones urbanes et se sentent déconnectées de la nature de our days. This study found that participants who took a 90-minute nature walk reported “lower levels of rumination and showed reduced neural activity in an area of the brain linked to mental illness risk compared to those who walked in an environment urban”. . Nature can be good for mental health. Reduces cognitive fatigue and stress and may be helpful for depression and anxiety. Do you want a mental boost? It may be time to take a bath (without soap and water) in your local forest.
6. Strengthen cognitive functions and be more creative
It probably won’t surprise you (or it might surprise you) that spending more time in nature can really boost your creativity. A study by psychologists at the University of Utah and the University of Kansas found that backpackers’ creativity test scores were 50% better after spending four days in nature, disconnected from electronic devices. This study published in 2012 was “the first to document systematic changes in high-level cognitive function associated with immersion in nature.
7. Grounding
Being outdoors also gives you an opportunity to practice grounding, a method of connecting with the earth’s natural energy by walking barefoot. Known benefits of grounding include the reduction of free radicals in the body when they come into contact with “free electrons,” whether they come from the earth or from food derived from the earth.
8. Fight seasonal depression
You can combat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) by spending time outdoors. Researchers believe that this disorder may be related to a lack of sunlight and vitamin D. When you spend time outdoors, you can get more of both, and the benefits of vitamin D are important to many aspects of our health.
9. Breathe clean air
Let’s also not forget that it is very nice to escape indoor air pollution and breathe fresh air outdoors.
how to practice
The steps of the forest bath are quite simple:
go to a forest
Walk slowly
Breathe
open all your senses
Basically, bathing in the forest is spending time among trees and nature, without distractions. You won’t bother anyone, because you certainly won’t be using technology during your forest bath. The idea is to be very present, not to capture the moment for social media. You’re also not trying to reach a final destination like you would on a hike, you’re just in the woods, very present and taking it all in with your different senses to see the surrounding beauty, breathe in fresh air, smell the bark of a nearby tree. The act of bathing in the forest is certainly somewhat meditative, but there are no hard and fast rules of approach or discipline.
If you are wondering if it is possible to take a forest bath near me, you should ask yourself the following question. You can bathe in the forest anywhere you are surrounded by trees. It can be a small park in a city or a large national park. Wherever you are, just have the intention of connecting with nature in a healing way.
* HealthKey strives to convey health knowledge in a language accessible to all. In NO EVENT can the information provided replace the opinion of a health professional.
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forest bath Hypertension stress