Forest Bathing: 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits

Forest bathing is healthy for you, both mentally and physically, and it's no wonder. Humans have a built-in desire to connect with nature. And conversely, nature has remarkable, positive effects on health. Unfortunately, in recent centuries, people have increasingly moved to cities.

There's a modern condition called "Nature Difficulty Disorder" in English. People are surrounded by concrete and asphalt every day and are addicted to electrical devices.

We're missing out on nature. Forest bathing can help strengthen your connection with nature and boost your health at the same time.

Forest bathing originated in Japan, but in recent years it has become increasingly popular in the West. In Japanese, it's called Shinrin-yoku, which translates as "absorbing the medicine of the forest."

Forest bathing became popular because many people experienced complaints related to an increasingly technological society and the ubiquitous stress. People felt depressed and unmotivated.

Sleep problems, anxiety and a sense of meaninglessness are common in our modern society.

It turns out that forest bathing can offer a wide range of health benefits, both mentally and physically. Forest bathing involves much more than simply taking a walk in nature.

It's all about total immersion in nature, using all your senses. You can walk leisurely, but you can also sit or lie down. You'll connect directly with the forest around you and become aware of what you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel.

You can feel leaves, smell flowers, and touch the bark of trees. You feel the wind on your skin and admire the colors of leaves and moss, or the play of light on the ground. You hear birds singing, the wind whispering between the trunks, and insects scurrying about.

Forest bathing is similar to mindfulness. You become fully immersed in the present moment. You can let go of your daily worries. You're not preoccupied with time, you follow your own natural rhythm, and you don't feel rushed.

Forest bathing allows you to create a (new) connection with nature and yourself. At the same time, you'll experience various benefits of forest bathing, which can help support your health.

In Japan, forest bathing is encouraged by the government because it can offer numerous health benefits. Research shows that forest bathing can reduce stress, strengthen the immune system, and improve blood pressure.

It can also help with mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. Below are 7 benefits.

Mindful forest walks can help alleviate stress. Research shows that people who practice forest bathing have lower levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline in their blood. This can help reduce feelings of anxiety and restlessness.

Forest bathing not only has a short-term effect, but can also help reduce chronic stress. Regularly retreating to the forest helps to lower blood pressure [1] .

You can use forest bathing as a technique to combat chronic stress. This could potentially prevent stress-related health problems.

When you're out in the woods, it's not just the fresh air you breathe. Trees and plants secrete substances called phytoncides. These are essential oils that trees and plants produce to protect themselves from insects and pathogens.

Phytoncides, however, have antimicrobial properties, and we humans can benefit from them. Inhaling forest air stimulates our bodies to produce more natural killer cells. These cells help fight infections and cancer, among other things [2] .

Research in Japan showed that people who practice forest bathing had more natural killer cells and that these were also more active.

Forest bathing is essentially a form of mindfulness and offers the same benefits. Being in the forest and mindfully present brings you fully into the present moment. This means you're free from distractions like screens and social media updates, as well as your own thoughts.

You focus on your senses, your breathing, and nature. You stop worrying and worrying. Mindful walking gives you a break and time to recharge. This gives your body and mind the energy they need.

By practicing mindfulness in the forest, you benefit twice: from the tranquility of nature and from the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness can also help reduce stress and has a positive effect on your mood.

Being mindful in the forest has even more benefits. For example, it can improve your concentration. This is partly because you're practicing mindfulness. You don't want to exert yourself to focus on the here and now. But it's beneficial to try to quiet your thoughts and gently direct your focus to your senses.

The trees and plants around you also help with this. The substance they produce, phytoncides, has a positive effect on concentration and creativity.

Forest bathing is a wonderful way to unwind. Research has long shown that being in a natural environment has a relaxing effect on people. It helps you relax and can therefore also reduce anxiety.

Recently, research has also been conducted on the effects of forest bathing in this area. Participants in the study were office workers from Tokyo who suffered from high levels of stress, leading to sleep problems.

These people switched the time they would normally spend walking in an urban environment to walking in a forest. It turned out that after walking in nature, they were much less anxious and slept better and longer [3] .

It is also possible that the phytoncides that plants and trees produce have a positive effect. These have calming properties and promote sleep [4] .

By practicing forest bathing, you may notice an increase in physical and mental energy. This is due to two unique mechanisms. First, there is a higher oxygen concentration in the forest compared to an urban environment.

This will supply your organs with all the oxygen they need and will make you feel fitter and more alive.

Secondly, phytoncides also play a major role in providing energy. These essential oils, produced by conifers, promote a feeling of fitness and combat fatigue [5] .

Walking has a positive effect on mood in general. Forest bathing enhances this even further and can help with depression, anxiety, and negative moods, such as anger.

A 2019 study found that forest bathing is good for mental health. 155 participants were studied, 37% of whom had depressive tendencies [6] . Before forest bathing, the depressed people scored significantly higher on depressive traits in a test.

After forest bathing, it appeared that people with depressive tendencies experienced significant improvements in their mood. In some cases, there were no differences between those who had previously suffered from depression and those who had not.

Forest bathing offers many benefits for both your body and mind. It's definitely worth planning a regular forest bathing session. You don't need a large forest for this. You can also enjoy forest bathing in a park or even in your own garden. Be sure to set aside some time for it, and make sure you won't be disturbed. Immerse yourself in nature and reap a sense of peace, well-being, and renewed energy.