Spending time in nature is one of life’s greatest joys. Nothing beats the earthy smell of the forest floor while the sunlight dances through a canopy of leaves overhead, birdsong filling the air. These times of solitude away from the hustle and bustle of modern life prove to be a great way to boost our mood and alleviate stress, giving us a welcome break from the distractions that fill our lives.
In Japan, this practice is known as shinrin-yoku, literally “forest bathing.” And, despite the term sounding like skinny dipping in a woodland lake, there need be no water involved. Instead, shinrin-yoku involves immersing yourself in a bath of nature, opening your senses fully to an organic environment.
By spending time in a natural setting, absorbing the atmosphere through our senses, the idea is that we reconnect with the part of ourselves that we become disconnected from in modern life.
Modern life and biophilia
While shinrin-yoku has been around in some form for thousands of years, it wasn’t until the 1980s that it was formalized as a medicinal practice. During this time, the Japanese government observed that alongside our increased use of technology came health issues such as backache, pains, listlessness, depression, and shortened concentration spans.
And things have only gotten worse in this regard. Traffic and population densities have increased over the years, with our built environments growing ever larger. Simply finding a patch of untouched nature becomes increasingly difficult. And, with almost all of us now owning a smartphone, even when we do find ourselves with grass under our feet, we are never more than a few taps away from a world of distractions and opinions, affecting our mental health and wellbeing.
Dr. Qing Li, a doctor at Tokyo’s Nippon Medical School, is a leading proponent of shinrin-yoku and is the Japanese Society of Forest Therapy’s president. He believes that most of us are, in effect, suffering from “nature deficit disorder” due to our spending most of our lives indoors, connected to technology rather than nature
This need for people to reconnect with nature has come to be called “biophilia” from the Greek meaning “love of the living world.” It was coined in 1984 by the American biologist E. O. Wilson who believed that because we evolved in a natural environment, we suffer if we are cut off from it. Given that we spend almost 93% of our time indoors, surrounded by artifice, it is perhaps no wonder, then, that modern life is laced with a sense of dissatisfaction.
We are, after all, creatures hard-wired to engage with a natural world.
Benefits of shinrin-yoku
For reasons similar to this, the Japanese government proposed shinrin-yoku as an antidote to city life. The government there began recommending citizens take regular trips to forests, allowing the natural setting to de-stress and relax them.
Over the following decades, studies began to show that the benefits of shinrin-yoku were more than anecdotal. The physiological effects of forest bathing began to show that after just a short time in a natural environment, like a forest, stress levels were reduced, heart rates lowered, and blood pressure decreased.
Encouraged, between the years 2004 and 2012, the Japanese government spent millions of dollars further researching shinrin-yoku. The findings were exciting, proving forest bathing was the key to finding harmony in techno-centric modern life.
The most significant benefits were:
Boosted immune system
As we sit or stroll through a forest or tree-filled valley carved by ancient rivers, we passively breathe in things called phytoncides. These are chemicals that travel through the air, given off by plants to ward off insects.
A study by Dr. Qing Li found that these are naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, and when breathed in, cause our bodies to boost the natural-killer cells in our blood. These are known to help fight viruses and attack tumors, with some researchers asking whether shinrin-yoku can help prevent forms of cancer.
Stress reduction
The link between forest bathing and stress reduction has been established for a long time. Later research showed that this stress-relieving effect is strongest in a natural environment, with pictures of trees, for example, only providing a diminished drop in the stress hormone cortisol. With stress reduction comes a better functioning immune system, too, strengthening the effect.
Mood improvement
Studies found that shinrin-yoku drastically improved depression and states of anxiety, as well as confusion and tiredness.
Improved concentration
Concentration levels, too, are noticeably increased after spending time forest bathing. This has some looking to the practice as an easy way to support children with ADHD, with time spent outdoors supplementing other management strategies.
Improvement in recovery times
Other studies show that patients who had a “green view” during recovery from surgery or illness improved faster and relied on painkillers less. This may be complemented by the reduction in stress that nature-scapes cause.
Improved sleep
Multiple studies have also found that forest bathing drastically improves sleep. With insomnia now prevalent in adults across the globe, a regular trip to a natural setting could be an accessible remedy. The studies found that participants not only slept longer after shinrin-yoku but also deeper, meaning better quality sleep.
As we spend more and more of our lives immersed in the world of digital technology, we must accept it comes with some downsides. Through the practice of shinrin-yoku, we can counteract these, maintaining perspective and enjoying the various health benefits as a result.
Did you know?
Improves problem solvingA study in the USA found that creative problem solving was improved by 50% after a four-day retreat from technology in a forest setting.Read the studyNHS hospital forestsThe NHS in the UK has established hospital forests and gardens to aid in patient recovery.Hospital forestsInto the ForestDr. Qing Li has published a book on shinrin-yoku called Into the Forest, where he discusses the science and history of the practice based on first-hand experience and research.
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