Forest bathing – it sounds like tree-hugging and esoteric fairy dances. In reality, the term conceals a scientifically proven method for improving your health on several levels. Known as forest medicine, it is a variety of nature therapy and is nowadays often mentioned in connection with eco-psychosomatics and environmental medicine. Here you can find out more about consciously immersing yourself in the fascinating world of forests.
For many millennia, the Earth's surface was covered with significantly more forest than it is today. Humans wandered through vast wooded areas, lived off plants, fruits, and animals, slept on or under trees, and found water and firewood there. It is quite possible that our genes still hold something like a memory of these long periods of human history, and that there is such a thing as a “genetic longing” for spending time in the forest. According to the biophilia hypothesis (biophilia means “love of life”), we humans have an innate tendency to seek contact with nature and other forms of life and to experience them as healing.
The Japanese approach to preventative healthcare
Forest bathing originally comes from Japan, where it is called Shinrin Yoku (loosely translated as “taking in the forest atmosphere”). Japanese scientists have researched the health-promoting aspects of spending time in the forest and brought a number of encouraging results to light. They were able to demonstrate that staying in forests can, among other things, lower high blood pressure and reduce stress hormones. The immune system and the cardiovascular system can also benefit from this special form of nature therapy. In the 1980s, based on these research results, the Japanese Forestry Agency suggested integrating forest excursions into one's lifestyle as a preventive measure. With great success! Today, many Japanese people actively practice Shinrin Yoku, also as a stress management method, because consciously experiencing the forest with all your senses is also considered a preventative measure against burnout and is said to be healing for anxiety, anger, and depression.
What is special about the forest's microclimate
Because trees evaporate water and their canopies shield sunlight, temperatures in the forest are cooler while the humidity is higher. A large tree evaporates up to 200 liters of water on a warm day. In addition, trees convert CO2 into oxygen and also produce essential oils that can be very beneficial for the respiratory tract. A tree's metabolic products are also called phytoncides. These substances can vary greatly, but they all share the fact that they act against disease-causing agents, known as pathogens. They are also said to have a balancing effect on the human organism, while the many shades of green in the forest are considered calming by color psychologists. Furthermore, the proximity to trees is believed to trigger a stimulating impulse for the immune system.
And how does forest bathing work?
Of course, there have long been books on the subject in German. If you enter the search term online, you will also find course offers and seminars that can guide you in forest bathing. In principle, however, you can also plan your time out among the trees on your own. You only need the leisure and mindfulness to engage with your surroundings using as many senses as possible.
How does the air smell? How does the bark of a tree or the forest floor feel under your bare feet? What sounds can you hear? Rustling leaves? Snapping twigs in the undergrowth? Bird calls? How many shades of green can you distinguish? What do you see if you stay quiet in one place for a long time and observe the area as if you were a predator? You can also combine your trip to the forest with meditation or visualization, or by singing. If you begin to forget time like a child and lose yourself in playful exploration and discovery – then you are in the midst of forest bathing.
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