It should come as no surprise that our world is becoming more urbanized. Driving down streets you may have driven your whole life you will notice new strip-malls, banks, restaurants, and the widening of roadways. Suburbs and cities continue to encroach upon farmland and when building out isn’t an option, we build up, with high rise apartment buildings and condos.
Have you ever thought about how this urbanization is affecting your health? So much to look at, so many sounds, new smells, and way more people creates a constant state of sensory overload. This overwhelming and persistent stimulation is one of the many reasons why those of us living in cities have higher levels of stress, suffer from high blood pressure, and experience more of the negative and hostile emotions when interacting with our peers.
Thankfully, there is an incredibly easy way to mitigate these symptoms.
In the 1980’s the Japanese government was looking for a way to manage the increasing levels of stress and stress-related disease amongst its population. Shinrin-Yoku, or Forest Bathing was a medical treatment that had been practiced by doctors across eastern Asia and seemed like a promising option. The government implemented research projects investigating the healing effects of forest bathing, and eventually made Shinrin-Yoku a health program.
Since the 80’s, forest bathing has become a popular topic for researchers in the field of stress management and cardiovascular health. What they have found is that a simple 2 hour forest bathing session has a number of benefits. These include lowering heart rate, lowering blood pressure, decreasing stress, increasing positive emotions and clearing the mind for more open and creative thinking. Even more interesting is the fact that trees give off an essential oil called phytoncide that protects them from disease. Breathing in the phytoncide helps to increase the number of natural killer cells (NK Cells), which are responsible for protecting our bodies from diseases like cancer.
Nature therapy, as it is sometimes referred to as, takes a few hours of your time and nothing else. Studies have actually shown that just by looking at images of nature, pulse rate begins to decrease, and you become more relaxed. For a true Shinrin-Yoku experience you simply immerse yourself in nature, without any outside electronics or devices, so that you can truly take in everything that nature has to offer. The smell of the wood and the flowers; the sounds of birds singing and leaves rustling; the feel of the ground beneath your feet; each bringing you closer and closer to the more natural world, and farther away from the stresses of urban life.
