Being around trees and plants is so obviously good for us, it seems silly to say as much. Yet we do, and we continue to dissect and discuss why it's true.
“Decades of research, plus empirical evidence, show that spending time with nature benefits both our bodies and minds,” says
Tasha Eichenseher, a trauma and nature-based therapist with a background in mindfulness practices and environmental science, who is based in Fraser, Colorado. “Even views of green space from your home or your children's school can boost attention and memory.”
The power of plants and trees is significant enough for a whole nation to have a protocol around it, one developed to “help heal a burnt-out workforce,” Eichenseher says. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 1982 reportedly termed the practice
shinrin-yoku, which translates to something along the lines of “making contact with and then taking in and absorbing the atmosphere of the forest.” In English we call it “
forest bathing” and sometimes “forest therapy.”
What is Forest Bathing?
Forest bathing isn't complicated nor does it involve bathing in the traditional sense. You can experience it in varying degrees and durations, from a little while alone among trees to several-hour excursions following a trained guide deep into the woods. In all cases, it requests your attention and encourages you to commune with nature.
The experience — as so many
mindfulness practices do — draws you to the present moment, so that you don't ruminate over the past or fret over the future. In the context of forest bathing, you apply that mindfulness to the natural world around you outside. Basically, you’re being in nature, and you’re paying attention to
being in nature. You might hug a tree (true story) or talk to moss (another true story). You might walk aimlessly in circles. You're definitely not trying to hike to mile marker five so you can get in your steps.
Eichenseher uses nature-based therapy tools in sessions with clients and leads mindfulness hikes in nature. “I've noticed that helping people connect to nature, or even a natural object like a houseplant, can foster nervous system relaxation and a sense of ease,” she says. “As renowned biologist E.O. Wilson said … humans are hard-wired to connect with nature.”
Studies back Wilson's words (here comes that ever-present discussion and dissection!).
Let's look at just three ways you can reaps rewards from forest bathing, specifically:
3 Reasons to Give Forest Bathing a Try
1. You'll feel less stressed and less anxious.
“Connecting to nature requires presence and the use of all of your senses,” Eichenseher says. “This, if you feel safe, can help you slow down, let go of anxiety — even if just for a moment — and find moments of awe and joy that are often missing from daily life.”
Many studies have found that being in nature reduces stress, and some of them have looked at forest bathing, in particular. One
concluded that “forest environments can be viewed as therapeutic landscapes.”
Another noted that “forest environments could lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, increase parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity compared with city settings.”
2. You'll protect yourself from getting sick.
Plants and trees — especially trees in evergreen forests, Eichenseher notes — give off antimicrobial substances called phytoncides. These chemicals are natural oils, a defense system that protects plants and trees from insects, bacteria and fungi that could harm them. Turns out they help humans too, particularly when you’re amid a thicket of trees. One
study conducted in Japan measured the activity of cells in the human immune system that respond quickly to viruses and tumor formation. People who had spent time in the woods had a notable increase in the activity of those cells, and it lasted for more than a week.
3. You'll feel more alive and purposeful
“This type of nature-connection can sometimes feel spiritual — a realization that we are all part of something bigger, including the earth's natural cycles of life and death,” Eichenseher says. “After hikes or nature-based sessions, clients are often visibly more calm and feel more grounded, experiencing more clarity around their values and what is important to them.”
An upside of this sort can be
hard to quantify, given it’s more of a self-reported outcome than, say, measuring blood pressure. But personal experience tells me it’s true. I’ve spent hundreds of full days, sometimes back-to-back, among thousands of trees, when I rock climb. The feeling is undeniable.
But what if you don't have ready access to woods? Take heart. Other options can still benefit you.
Hang out near trees.
Really. Don't overthink it. If you live near a pocket park, go there for a while. Just make sure you’re not beholden to your phone. Remember, as Eichenseher and those many studies affirmed, being around plants is calming, and being around trees is arguably more so. Maybe your yard or that park even has pine, cedar, spruce or firs — evergreens that rank high in phytoncides.
Go to the beach or a river or a lake.
You might not get the phytoncides at these spots, but being near bodies of water and
blue spaces has its own
perks (yes please, negative ions at the beach or a waterfall). Take advantage! Listen to the lapping water, notice the cresting waves. Half the work, if we choose to call it that, of forest bathing is paying attention. If you’re in a natural outdoor setting, you’re on your way. Staying present to what’s around you, from birds to sun to wind to sand, will get you most of the rest of the way.
