Shinrin-Yoku: Forest Bathing For Health

Navigating our modern lives

With emerging technology, humans have been lured further and further from nature. In fact, it’s estimated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that we spend roughly 90 percent of our time indoors. ^[1]

Our artificial environments consist of artificial blue light, industrial air pollution, noise pollution, and concrete. It’s no surprise that this move towards technology has come with consequences. The following health conditions are found at a higher rate among urbanites:

• Anxiety ^[2]
• Depression ^[3]
• Mood disorders ^[2]
• PTSD ^[4]
• Schizophrenia ^[5]
• Cardiovascular diseases ^[6]
• Respiratory diseases ^[7]
• Diabetes ^[8]
• Obesity ^[9]
• Insulin resistance ^[9]
• Cancer ^[10]

To mitigate the effects of our lifestyle, we're typically given treatments from modern medicine.

But what if there was a natural route to relief? The therapeutic benefits of shinrin-yoku, AKA forest bathing, have caught our attention.

A brief history of forest bathing

In the 1980s, the people of Japan began noting the detrimental effects of stressors in their modern lives. This led many people to follow their intuition back into nature. Many could finally alleviate their long-suffered conditions.

The Director of the Japanese Forestry Agency coined the name “shinrin-yoku” for this medicinal practice, a term translating to “forest bath” or “taking in the forest atmosphere.” This began the suggestion of exposure to forests for healing purposes.

Who would have known that by simply immersing ourselves in nature, we can mitigate the effects of our modern lives? Therapeutic benefits felt by the people of Japan were later studied and confirmed to be quite significant.

Many of the lifestyle diseases improved through forest bathing include:

• Hypertension ^[11]
• Anxiety ^[12]
• High cortisol ^[13]
• Depression ^[14]
• Cancers ^[15]
• Cardiovascular diseases ^[11]
• Inflammation ^[16]
• Asthma ^[17]
• Atopic dermatitis ^[18]
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ^[19]
• Chronic pain ^[20]
• Cognitive decline/dysfunction ^[21]
• Diabetes ^[22]
• Hyperglycemia ^[22]
• Oxidative stress ^[23]
• Poor sleep quality ^[24]

How forest bathing counteracts stress

Humans share a natural inclination to be in nature, as it's fundamental to our biology. An initial benefit felt when returning to nature is the drastic stress relief. Salivary cortisol concentration is the gold standard for biomarkers in stress research. ^[25] This biomarker has lowered significantly with forest-based intervention. ^[13]

There's an interesting combined effect of walking and forest-based environmental observation. This has influenced research on the benefits of walking in natural environments. This brought about thirteen studies published from 1991 to 2008. Nature therapy reduces negative emotions such as stress, anger, fatigue, and depression, while increasing feelings of energy. ^[26]

There is an undeniable relaxation effect brought on by forest settings. This phenomenon improves many physiological stress biomarkers – such as salivary cortisol concentration, pulse rate, blood pressure, and heart rate variability. Changes reveal the physiological and psychological benefits of decreased hypertension, ^[11] anxiety, ^[12] cortisol levels, ^[13] depression, ^[14] and poor sleep. ^[27] It’s no surprise that our modern lives have such detrimental effects on our well-being.

Our biology craves the well-documented benefits of forest bathing brought on by submerging our senses into nature. We prize sunlight, fresh air, and the natural ground beneath our feet for their healing components. We can experience these benefits of forest bathing in any natural environment. Whether in the forests or our backyards, our mind and body are able to recover from modern stressors.

Forest air enhances our innate immunity

When we look to improve our immunity, we generally point towards our diet. While nutrition plays a major role, studies show that our environment does as well. This brings us to the medicinal properties of phytoncides, better known as tree essential oils. ^[28]

Trips to the forest can boost immune cells that eliminate tumors, microbial infections, and tissue damage. ^[28] We call these immune cells human natural killer (NK) cells. ^[29] The mechanism responsible for this biological enhancement is the tree’s natural phytoncides. Phytoncides can enhance our NK cell activity. ^[30]

Some recognized phytoncides include: α-pinene, d-limonene, β-pinene, sabinene, myrcene, and camphene. These all come from various tree species. The enhancement of NK cell activity after only 2 hours spent in the forest can last for days. ^[28]

More benefits of inhaling phytoncides include mood enhancement, ^[31] reduced inflammation, ^[32] reduced oxidative stress, ^[33] and reduced blood glucose levels. ^[22]

There is no better aromatherapy than the one brought to us by nature!

Experiencing the benefits of forest bathing anywhere

For many of us, the nearest forests are miles away. But are the benefits bound to this distance?

Luckily, we are never too far away to experience the benefits of forest bathing. Tapping into our innate biology can be done with just a square foot of natural earth for ground contact. ^[34] Our innate healing mechanisms are influenced by sunbathing, ^[35] breathing, ^[36] and listening to the many sounds of nature. ^[37]

Without a doubt, forest bathing can replace many common medical interventions. By limiting our sedentary habits, ^[38] screen time, ^[39] and our exposure to technology, ^[40] we can preserve our natural ability to thrive.

It's common to suppress symptoms caused by artificial environments with artificial treatments, but this is a step in the wrong direction. Covering up our body’s cry for nature is only leading to amplified effects. Stepping outside is how we distance ourselves from our rapidly digitalizing world. Despite groundbreaking advances in medicine, nature is always two steps ahead in meeting our needs.

Takeaway tips

• With every opportunity, take your lunch, workouts, and free time outside. ^[41]
• Locate your favorite natural area – trails, forests, beaches, or even Certified Forest Therapy Trails.
• Dress in non-restrictive, comfortable clothing. ^[42] [43]
• Immerse your senses in nature. This includes taking in the noises, smells, and scenes. ^[44]
• Allow your mind to be at ease with nature. Replace any racing thoughts with a new focus on your surroundings. Slow down your breath and note this feeling. ^[45]
• Once back in your modern environment, seek the innate, meditative state you found within yourself. ^[46]

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