A Growing Body of Evidence Supports the Idea That Getting Out in Nature May Just Be What You Need
There’s simply no debate—forest bathing provides a natural environment of grass, trees, and fresh air—which can literally bring you back to life. Thankfully, there is mounting scientific data to prove that being in contact with nature is good for us physically, emotionally, and mentally.Medical Studies Prove Forest Walking Offers Multiple Health Benefits
The studies which began in Japan sought to find the physiological impact of forest bathing. Li, an associate professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo and current president of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine, has conducted experiments to test forest bathing on human health.How Does Forest Walking Reduce Cancer Risk?
A profile of mood states test showed that forest bathing trips significantly increased vigor in test subjects—while decreasing anxiety, depression, and anger. This factor alone was shown to decrease the risk of stress-related diseases like heart disease and cancer.One of the Best Studies to Date
In one particular study, subjects experienced a three-day/two-night trip to three different Japanese forests. Prior to the forest visit, the same subjects participated in a city tourist visit—consisting of a three-day/two-night trip to Nagoya city, which had very few trees.The class of hotel and the lifestyle of the subjects during the stays in the hotels were the same for the city and forest trips. The walking courses of both trips were 2.5 km.
Interestingly, the city tourist visit did not increase participants’ natural killer cell activity or the expression of selected intracellular perforin (more about this in a moment). These findings showed that forest bathing trips did increase natural killer cell activity, the number of NK cells, and the levels of perforin.
Breathing in This Unique Chemical Compound May Be Responsible for Anticancer Effect
Li attributes the increase in NK activity partly to breathing in air containing phytoncide—an essential oil from the wood—like α-pinene and limonene, which are antimicrobial volatile organic compounds emitted from trees to protect them from rotting and insects.By the way, phytoncides are natural preservatives and fungicides, classified as antimicrobial volatile organic compounds, and can also be used as essential oils in aromatherapy.
Forest Walking Offers Immediate Positive Results
Walking in a forest or park strengthens your white blood cells, lowers your heart rate, reduces blood pressure, and decreases the stress hormone—cortisol.By breathing in the aroma of the plants—we are saturating our bodies with chemicals known for their ability to prevent infections, viruses, and cancer. So, remember, the next time you’re in the forest—hug a tree and take a deep breath, because it may just save your life.