Forest Bathing

森林浴 shinrin-yoku　森 shin 林 rin 浴 yoku

Japanese researchers have accumulated impressive data on what they call shinrin-yoku. Shinrin-yoku consists of three kanji, shin for forest, rin for wood, and yoku for bathe, so the English translation is forest bathing. Forest bathing is simply walking slowly among the trees in a forest, park, or wooded area. We have been forest bathing for millions of years. Our bodies are adapted to living in a pristine natural world.

Natural Environment

The very first cities developed on river banks in 3000 BCE in Mesopotamia, on the banks of Egypt’s Nile River, in the Indus River valley, and along China’s rivers. But it wasn’t until the 18th century Industrial Revolution that urban life blossomed. In 1800, 3 percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas. By 1900, this grew to 14 percent. Today, 55 percent of the world’s population sqeeze into urban areas. Sixty-eight percent of the world population are projected to live in urban areas by 2050. We’ve spent 99 percent of our time in the natural enviroment. Our genetic code will take millions of years to adapt to urban living putting our autonomic nervous system is in a state of constant stress. American clinical psychologist Craig Brod came up with the term “technostress.” We are becoming more and more reliant  on technology and futher and further removed from nature. Our phones grab our constant attention, stressing us out, even while we are in a natural environment. Our sympathetic (SNS) fight/flight nervous system  charges with adrenaline.  Our parasympathetic (PNS) rest and digest nervous system virtually shuts down. We need to escape. When we step out of the city and enter the forest, park or woods, our SNS turns down and our PNS turns up.  We go from fight/flight-stressed to rest/digest relaxed in minutes – if we shut off our phones. And the more time we spend , the longer the effect lingers when we return to our harried existence.

Researched Benefits

In “Shinrin-Yoku, the Japanese Art of Forest Bathing,” Yoshifumi Miyazaki describes the many researched benefits of forest bathing that include:

1. Improvement of weakened immunity, with an increase in the count of natural killer (NK) cells, known to fight tumours and infection.

1. Reduction in blood pressure after only fifteen minutes of forest therapy. After a day of forest therapy, this reduction in blood pressure lasts up to 5 days.

In 2007 Miyazaki received a government research budget of 400 million yen –more than 4 million dollars– to expand his research. His research into park therapy and flower/bonsai therapy began in 2007. He conducted experiments to explore the benefits of waking in the park and while viewing roses, pansies, Dracaena an Japanese cypress bonsai. Other experiments looked into  the benefits of smelling roses and oranges, and activities with planting ornamental plants. In all cases he found clear evidence of a relaxing effect on the body.

Indoor Forest Bathing

You do not even need to step outdoors. Aroma therapy with essential oils and from the wood and leaves of pine trees and Japanese cypresses calmed brain activity and boosted the parasympathetic nerve activity that fosters relaxation. “Simply by smelling or touching pieces of pine, oak or Japanese cypress wood, subjects experienced a  calming effect of prefrontal brain activity, a reduction in sympathetic nerve activity and a rise in parasympathetic nerve activity – all of which amounts to a reduction in stress.” Yoshifumi Miyazaki

Self-help books that help:

Total Self-Renewal through Attention Therapies and Open Focus The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body